South Africa Plans to Ban Retail Display of E-Cigarettes, with Over 90% of Industry Practitioners Op

A survey involving more than 200 professional tobacco companies in South Africa shows that the vast majority oppose the new "Tobacco Products and Tobacco Products" recently submitted to Parliamente-cigarettesRegulation Act. Brand distributor a Sales said in a press releaseFLOW-wrap: break-word !important;"> The bill proposes a comprehensive ban on the display of tobacco products and related products, including e-cigarettes, cigarettes, cigars and hookah.
The press release said the bill would harm small businesses that only sell the above-mentioned tobacco products. In response, professional tobacco manufacturers issued an appeal. According to international precedent, professional tobacco manufacturers who only sell the above categories and do not involve other categories can be exempted from such bans.
The survey covered 9 stores employing 4 employees. Among them, 98% of respondents opposed the display ban, saying it would seriously affect sales;75% said the bill would criminalize working legal businesses, and 86% believed the bill would harm the lives of employees who rely on small businesses.
96% of respondents also said that a display ban would lead to more illegal transactions. Currently, the market share of illegal trade accounts for approximately 60% of South Africa's total tobacco market. Relevant sources said that through a survey of professional tobacco products stores, it is clear that in most cases, a comprehensive ban on displaying the only tobacco product sold in their stores will pose a survival risk to the store's business.
Diane Bravo, head of professional tobacco retailer Casa Tabacs, called on the South African government to consider the economic impact of the bill and work with the tobacco industry to find a balanced and reasonable approach to tobacco regulation in South Africa.# p#pagination title #e#
Previously, Gewu consumption continued to follow up with South Africa's e-cigarette regulatory changes. The public consultation on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarette Regulation Act mentioned above will end early on July 28 (previously the end time was set to August 4). The bill mainly includes the following contents:
Regulate smoking;
Regulate the sales and advertising of tobacco products and e-cigarettes;
Standardize the packaging and appearance of tobacco products and e-cigarettes;
Develop standards for the manufacturing and export of tobacco products and e-cigarettes;
Ban the sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes to children;#p#pagination title #e#
Ban the free distribution of tobacco products and e-cigarettes;
Ban the sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes through vending machines;
After the bill was promulgated, it attracted a large number of different voices from the South African tobacco industry. Some people think it is inappropriate to confuse traditional tobacco products with e-cigarettes. Tobacco industry practitioners believe that the bill will have an impact on their operations; others believe that the bill will have a negative impact on South Africa's finances, which rely heavily on the tobacco industry.
The challenges facing e-cigarette regulation in South Africa do not stop there.
South Africa will levy an e-cigarette consumption tax on June 1, 2023, with a tax rate of 2.9 South African rand/ml. Manufacturers must apply for production licenses for businesses by June 1. The direct impact of this is that the retail price of e-cigarettes in South Africa has increased significantly.
Barry Buchman, general manager of South African e-cigarette retailer Vaperite, calculated in an interview in mid-June that a 30-ml bottle of #p#paginated title #e#nicotine saltsmoke oilThe price will rise from about 180 South African rand per bottle to 280 South African rand per bottle; the price of a 100-ml bottle of free radical smoking oil will rise from 280 South African rand per bottle to 613.50 South African rand per bottle, an increase of more than 100%.
in this regard. South Africae-cigarette productsThe CEO of the Association (VPSA) pointed out in a May interview that The South African Electronic Cigarette Products Association expects that demand for e-cigarette fluid will decrease by 26% after the introduction of a consumption tax.
Overall, if South Africa finally passes the current version of the Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarette Regulation Act, coupled with the previous consumption tax levy, e-cigarette sales in compliant markets may decline significantly in the future.