{"id":14499,"date":"2025-03-19T13:17:31","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T14:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/?p=14499"},"modified":"2025-03-19T17:18:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T17:18:59","slug":"business-sector-voices-reservations-over-tobacco-bill-as-negotiations-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/builder\/business-sector-voices-reservations-over-tobacco-bill-as-negotiations-continue\/","title":{"rendered":"Business sector voices reservations over Tobacco Bill as negotiations continue"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post<\/a> was originally published on this site<\/a><\/p>

<\/p>\n

Tawanda Karombo<\/span><\/p>\n

The business sector in South Africa has given a cautious approval to the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) report concerning the Tobacco Bill consultations. <\/span><\/p>\n

Business Unity South Africa (Busa) has raised concerns over the involvement of international anti-tobacco NGOs such as the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) during negotiations with the government. <\/span><\/p>\n

It argued that inclusion of such NGOs in the government delegation \u201cundermines the integrity of Nedlac\u2019s structure and raises questions about the independence of South Africa\u2019s policy-making\u201d process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, the business sector has also expressed reservations over the final Nedlac report it said included \u201cnew information introduced unilaterally\u201d by the government. <\/span><\/p>\n

It cited information covering key policy areas such as enforcement effectiveness, harm reduction, and the impact on employment in the tobacco sector.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese additions, which were not discussed during formal deliberations, create an inaccurate portrayal of the engagement process,\u201d said Busa on Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Disagreements between government, social and business partners have dogged the framework for the Tobacco Bill negotiations under Nedlac. <\/span><\/p>\n

Business argues that the government remained adamant on critical aspects of the tobacco legislation. At one time, business lodged a complaint against modification of some sections on policy issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

A key point of contention is \u201cgovernment\u2019s refusal to acknowledge harm reduction and product differentiation\u201d contradicting the earlier agreed stance that all tobacco products be deemed equally harmful.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Busa\u2019s draft final Nedlac report, the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill <\/span>aims to regulate smoking, the sale and advertising of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems and the packaging and appearance of tobacco products<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

It also seeks to control <\/span>electronic delivery systems<\/span> of tobacco products <\/span>and to make provision for <\/span>packaging <\/span>standardisation<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>It further seeks to provide for standards in respect of the manufacturing and export of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems, prohibit the sale of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems to children; prohibit the free distribution of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems; and prohibit the sale of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems by means of vending machines<\/span>,\u201d notes the draft report.<\/span><\/p>\n

D<\/span>ialogue sessions were convened <\/span>under Nedlac in December last year seeking to <\/span>enable social partners to share information and their perspectives on matters contained in the Bill<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Subsequently, a<\/span> scientific briefing was<\/span> <\/span>convened on 13 January 2025, which provided an opportunity for academics and scientific experts to share research on the health impacts of tobacco and nicotine products.<\/span><\/p>\n

Experts said the u<\/span>ptake of smoke-free nicotine products was improving across Africa although regional policy positions in some countries such as South Africa were holding back speedy impacts in harm reduction associated with tobacco products.<\/span><\/p>\n

Companies such as British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International and others are moving away from combustible cigarettes and rolling out smoke free nicotine products in markets such as South Africa. <\/span>This comes as there are global efforts to reduce deaths related to tobacco use.<\/span><\/p>\n

W<\/span>hile it has become \u201cextremely challenging to stop tobacco use,\u201d the \u201cuse of newer products to encourage users to move away from combustion tobacco\u201d was gaining traction across the African continent, <\/span>noted <\/span>Mercy Korir, a Kenyan medical expert<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

She explained that A<\/span>frican governments have to \u201cmove on with the times\u201d<\/span>at a time <\/span>\u201c<\/span>h<\/span>arm reduction measures remain controversial and contested in many countries in Africa,\u201d<\/span> according to <\/span>Martin Agwogie, e<\/span>xecutive director for the Global Initiative on Substance Abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is slow adoption of harm reduction policies in Africa.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

BUSINESS REPORT<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tawanda KaromboThe business sector in South Africa has given a cautious approval to the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) report concerning the Tobacco Bill consultations. Business Unity South Africa (Busa) has raised concerns over the involvement of international anti-tobacco NGOs such as the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) during negotiations with the government. It argued that inclusion of such NGOs in the government delegation \u201cundermines the integrity of Nedlac\u2019s structure and raises questions about the independence of South Africa\u2019s policy-making\u201d process.Moreover, the business sector has also expressed reservations over the final Nedlac report it said included \u201cnew information introduced unilaterally\u201d by the government. It cited information covering key policy areas such as enforcement effectiveness, harm reduction, and the impact on employment in the tobacco sector.\u201cThese additions, which were not discussed during formal deliberations, create an inaccurate portrayal of the engagement process,\u201d said Busa on Wednesday.Disagreements between government, social and business partners have dogged the framework for the Tobacco Bill negotiations under Nedlac. Business argues that the government remained adamant on critical aspects of the tobacco legislation. At one time, business lodged a complaint against modification of some sections on policy issues.A key point of contention is \u201cgovernment\u2019s refusal to acknowledge harm reduction and product differentiation\u201d contradicting the earlier agreed stance that all tobacco products be deemed equally harmful.According to Busa\u2019s draft final Nedlac report, the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill aims to regulate smoking, the sale and advertising of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems and the packaging and appearance of tobacco products. It also seeks to control\u00a0electronic delivery systems\u00a0of tobacco products\u00a0and to make provision for\u00a0packaging\u00a0standardisation.\u201cIt further seeks to provide for standards in respect of the manufacturing and export of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems, prohibit the sale of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems to children; prohibit the free distribution of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems; and prohibit the sale of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems by means of vending machines,\u201d notes the draft report.Dialogue sessions were convened\u00a0under Nedlac in December last year seeking to\u00a0enable social partners to share information and their perspectives on matters contained in the Bill. Subsequently, a\u00a0scientific briefing was\u00a0convened on 13 January 2025, which provided an opportunity for academics and scientific experts to share research on the health impacts of tobacco and nicotine products.Experts said the uptake of smoke-free nicotine products was improving across Africa although regional policy positions in some countries such as South Africa were holding back speedy impacts in harm reduction associated with tobacco products.Companies such as British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International and others are moving away from combustible cigarettes and rolling out smoke free nicotine products in markets such as South Africa. This comes as there are global efforts to reduce deaths related to tobacco use.While it has become \u201cextremely challenging to stop tobacco use,\u201d the \u201cuse of newer products to encourage users to move away from combustion tobacco\u201d was gaining traction across the African continent, noted\u00a0Mercy Korir, a Kenyan medical expert.She explained that African governments have to \u201cmove on with the times\u201dat a time\u00a0\u201charm reduction measures remain controversial and contested in many countries in Africa,\u201d\u00a0according to\u00a0Martin Agwogie, executive\u00a0director\u00a0for the\u00a0Global Initiative on Substance Abuse.\u201cThere is slow adoption of harm reduction policies in Africa.\u201dBUSINESS REPORT<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-builder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14500,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14499\/revisions\/14500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}