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The Health Department expects to submit the Electronic Delivery Systems and Tobacco Products Control Bill to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet by the end of 2020.
A department spokesman said Working day that the bill requires cabinet approval before it can be processed by parliament.
The bill is expected to further regulate the use, marketing and sale of electronic cigarettes or vaporizers in South Africa, with these products currently operating in a ‘legislative gap’.
The government has also indicated that it plans to introduce more restrictions on cigarette smoking in public places.
Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla said in May that the government was in the process of finalizing the bill that will allow it impose a 100% ban on smoking in public areas.
He said the government is also moving to identify areas that need to be strengthened in terms of legislation, including regulation of e-cigarettes and related products.
“We are finalizing the tobacco control bill to close the gap and protect the public from the harmful effects of tobacco use. We continue to identify areas that need to be strengthened in terms of legislation, ”he said.
Current smoking law prohibits smoking in public places, but allows designated smoking areas in places like bars, taverns, and restaurants as long as they occupy no more than 25% of the space.
“We want to change the 25% smoking allowed in public areas to a 100% ban on smoking in public areas.”
The deputy minister noted that adult smoking has dropped from 32% in 1992 to 18% in 2012 in South Africa. He said that more recent studies have shown that this number has since increased to more than 21%.
He said that tobacco kills about 20,000 people in South Africa annually.
Read: Here is the updated list of high risk countries that cannot travel to South Africa
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