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The Surveillance and Monitoring of Tobacco Control in South Africa
World Health Organization
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ABSTRACT: South Africa is situated at the southernmost tip of
Africa and is divided into nine provinces: Western Cape,
Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State,
Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo Province and North
West Province. It has a population of approximately 43
million, half of whom are under 19 years of age.(1) South
Africa is considered a middle-income, developing country
and has extremes of wealth and poverty due to 350 years
of colonialism and apartheid1. Almost 78% of the population
are “Black/African” (1) and they represent the majority
of those living in poverty.(2) About 72% of the poor
live in rural areas. (2) There are 11 official languages in
South Africa.
The history of tobacco control in SA dates back to the
1970s when tobacco use was banned in cinemas, followed
by a ban on smoking on domestic flights.(3) In 1993 the
first Tobacco Products Control Act (4) was passed and
was implemented in 1995. It regulated smoking in public
places, prohibited tobacco sales to minors under the age of
16 and regulated some aspects of advertising of tobacco
products such as labelling. It was not a comprehensive act
in that it had the following shortcomings: radio advertising
was still allowed; smoking in public places was not
banned completely; the definition of a public place was
not specified, and no enforcement mechanism was built
into the act. In 1995, health warnings were introduced
for all tobacco packaging and tobacco advertising on billboards.
Due to the shortfalls of the 1993 Act, the Tobacco
Products Control Amendment Act was passed in 1999.(5)
It primarily bans all advertising and promotion of tobacco
products, including sponsorship and free distribution of
tobacco products; it restricts smoking in public places,
including the workplace and public transport; it stipulates
penalties for transgressors of the law, and specifies the
maximum permissible levels of tar and nicotine. The regulations
were implemented in 2001.(6)
SUGGESTED CITATION:
World Health Organization,
"The Surveillance and Monitoring of Tobacco Control in South Africa"
(January 1, 2003).
Tobacco Control.
WHO Tobacco Control Papers.
Paper SAFR2003.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/tc/whotcp/SAFR2003
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