Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
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As Parliament continues to discuss the merits of electronic cigarettes as “safer” alternatives to tobacco and the need for a multitude of vape flavours, immeasurable harm is befalling our children. Photo: Rainier Ridao/Unsplash
CANCER PREVENTION

Hey Parliament, our kids are getting addicted to vapes. Let’s put an end to it

It’s time to put an end to the discussions about the merits of electronic cigarettes as “safer” alternatives to tobacco and the fantastical need for a multitude of vape flavours,…

  • Richard van Zyl-Smit
6 min read
A throat ulcer. Bloody urine. A sick baby. That’s what smokers in other countries see. In South Africa? For now, it’s a tiny black box. Photo: Canva
ANTI SMOKING LEGISLATION

If a cigarette box isn’t disgusting, it’s not doing its job

A throat ulcer. Bloody urine. A sick baby. That’s what smokers in other countries see. In South Africa? For now, it’s a tiny black box

  • Zano Kunene
7 min read
We talked to Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, a member of the WHO’s study group on tobacco product regulation, about the 2025 WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, and the Tobacco Bill. (Vaping360/Flickr)
BIG TOBACCO

‘Vapes are safe alternatives to smoking’ — and other lies they tell us

With fewer people smoking cigarettes globally, the tobacco industry is using its well-honed tactics to increase sales of electronic devices like vapes and heated tobacco products

  • Zano Kunene
6 min read
Because vapes don’t produce smoke from burning tobacco, they’re often punted as less harmful than smoking and seen as a popular way to help people quit. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
E CIGARETTE HEALTH RISKS

Will South Africa’s new vaping laws lead to more smokers?

Research shows that e-cigarette rules could lead to a spike in traditional smoking

  • Christina Pitt
8 min read
Cheaper, untaxed cigarettes are disproportionately used by lower-income smokers, people with less formal education and heavier smokers — groups more vulnerable to both economic strain and health risks.
AARON MOTSOALEDI

Big Tobacco tries to stop SA’s anti-smoking Bill from becoming law

The Bill says the same rules should apply to vaping and traditional cigarettes and that both should be sold in plain packaging and banned in all public spaces

  • Christina Pitt
8 min read