By Timothy S. Donahue

Top Takeaways:

• Parliament moves forward: South Africa’s Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill has cleared the “motion of desirability” stage and will now undergo clause-by-clause review.
• Changes possible: Lawmakers said the bill’s next phase will examine issues such as product differentiation, harm reduction, illicit trade and enforcement.
• Broad restrictions proposed: The legislation would ban indoor smoking and vaping in public places, require plain packaging, prohibit product displays, and regulate electronic nicotine products alongside traditional tobacco products.

South Africa’s proposed Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill has cleared an important parliamentary hurdle after the National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Health voted to adopt the bill’s motion of desirability, enabling lawmakers to begin a detailed, clause-by-clause review of the legislation.

The committee voted 10-1 in favor of advancing the bill, first introduced in 2022, which seeks to overhaul South Africa’s regulation of combustible tobacco products, vaping products, and other electronic nicotine delivery systems. Adoption of the motion does not make the bill law but confirms that Parliament believes the legislation should continue through the legislative process.

Portfolio Committee Chairperson Faith Muthambi said the committee’s support for advancing the bill should not be taken as an endorsement of its current wording. “By voting to advance this Bill, we commit ourselves to a clause-by-clause process in which differentiation and harm reduction are not an afterthought but the lens through which every provision is tested.”

Muthambi noted that the committee’s public consultation process included hearings in 27 municipalities across all nine provinces, drawing nearly 7,900 participants, 1,113 oral submissions, and dozens of additional virtual presentations from scientists, physicians, industry representatives, labor groups, academics, and members of the public.

If enacted, the legislation would introduce some of the country’s most significant tobacco-control measures in decades. Among its major provisions are:

• 100% smoke-free indoor public places, eliminating designated indoor smoking areas in restaurants, taverns, bars and workplaces.
• Restrictions on smoking and vaping in certain outdoor public areas.
• Regulation of electronic cigarettes and vaping products under the same legislative framework as traditional tobacco products.
• Plain packaging with graphic health warnings.
• A ban on point-of-sale product displays.
• Expanded restrictions on advertising, promotion and sponsorship for tobacco and vaping products.
• A prohibition on cigarette vending machines.
• Continued prohibition on sales to minors.

While public health organizations have broadly supported the bill, lawmakers acknowledged that stakeholders raised significant concerns during public hearings, particularly about enforcement, illicit trade, the impact on small businesses, and whether the legislation sufficiently distinguishes between combustible cigarettes and lower-risk nicotine alternatives.

During committee deliberations, members emphasized that the next phase of the legislative process will focus on refining the bill. Muthambi noted that the Department of Health has already accepted product differentiation as a guiding principle and proposed amendments reflecting that approach, although electronic nicotine products remain subject to the same legislative framework.