OWNERS of spaza shops are saying “no” to the proposed Tobacco Bill.
They say the bill is flawed and will either force them to break the law or push them out of business.
This comes after the Department of Health proposed the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill.
The bill proposes a ban on smoking in all public buildings and within 10m on the outside of these buildings.
The South African Spaza and Tuckshop Association is opposing the bill on behalf of its members.
The association was formed in 1997 to facilitate business operations for small business owners in townships.
The association’s president, Rose Nkosi, told Daily Sun: “We noted that the impact assessment which was included in the proposed bill makes no mention of spazas and tuck shops: an industry that will lose customers and income because of the inability to sell tobacco products.”
Nkosi said the majority of their sales was in single cigarettes and prohibiting this in the proposed bill would kill their businesses.
“Our customers cannot afford to buy full packs of cigarettes. If it is only full packs that are available, they will only be able to afford illegal tobacco.
“This measure effectively bans our entire cigarette trade. It will force all our members to either break the law or close,” said Nkosi.
The Vaping Product Association has also declared its position on the proposed smoking bill.
CEO Zodwa Velleman said that electronic smoking devices are fundamentally different to the traditional products and it does not make sense to subject the two to the same regulatory design as proposed.
