Worry over impact of tobacco bill on vaping industry

THE Vapour Products Association of South Africa (VPASA) says it fears the vaping industry could be decimated should the new tobacco bill become law.

The government is determined to make smoking tougher with its latest tobacco plan. The law will include tighter regulations on e-cigarettes and vaping devices.

The Department of Health hopes the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill will discourage people from smoking and encourage users to quit.

Smoking or vaping in private in the presence of a child or non-smoker will be forbidden, and plain packaging with limited branding will appear on cigarette boxes.

In addition, it is alleged the bill highlights the minister’s powers to prohibit e-liquid or vape juice.

Asanda Gcoyi, CEO of the VPASA, said should the bill be put into law, it could signal the end of the vaping industry in the country.

“The vaping industry as we know will be completely destroyed,” Gcoyi said. “The vaping industry was taken aback by the extensive revisions made to the bill since it was first published in 2018.

“While the Cabinet statement announcing the adoption of the bill noted that the Department of Health had conducted extensive consultations, it conveniently failed to state that other than anti-tobacco campaigners, no other stakeholders had seen a copy of the revised bill before it was gazetted on September 29. This is despite numerous requests for a copy made by industry stakeholders.”

Gcoyi said they weren’t against stricter laws. All they want is for the vaping industry to be regulated.

“But proposals that are on the table are not based on science or empirical evidence. Substantively, the bill is a complete disappointment in its treatment of electronic nicotine delivery systems). It will be detrimental to the industry.

“The bill still conflates vaping and smoking as if they are the same thing. Vaping requires a separate set of guidelines recognising that it is not the same as smoking and therefore cannot be regulated in the same manner.

“It opens a route for government to ban the sale of flavoured e-liquids. Such a move is likely to prove entirely detrimental to the fight against tobacco smoking. Flavours are what keep smokers who have switched to vaping from reverting to smoking.

“The validity of arguments about fruit and dessert flavours appealing to young people entirely misses the fact that vapes are manufactured for the use of smokers. Communication and design should not be restricted except to prevent communications that target youth or misleads consumers. A general safety warning is important.”