Ironically, sin taxes on tobacco are touted as an effort to discourage smoking, yet the stats show exactly the opposite is happening. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey undertaken by the SA Medical Research Council in 2021 shows 25.8% of South Africans were smokers, up from 16.2% in 2012.
“While government’s aim with the so-called sin tax is to get smokers to either quit or cut down, it has been proven to drive those who are unable to afford legal cigarettes to purchase illegal cigarettes that are much, much lower in price.”Tax Justice SA estimates the black market in cigarettes robs the state of more than R20 billion a year in lost revenue. The illicit market in cigarettes blossomed as a result of the five-month ban on tobacco sales in 2020, ostensibly to fight Covid.
“This is because vaping does not produce smoke. Rather, vaping devices heat a liquid into an aerosol and, while there are some potentially harmful toxins present, this is at much lower levels than in cigarette smoke.”Illicit cigarettes are affordable The new sin tax on vaping products comes into force on 1 June, more than doubling the retail price on many vape e-liquids, regardless of the nicotine content.International model“Sweden’s success story should be celebrated as a public health revolution,” said Delon Human, secretary-general of the Africa Harm Reduction Alliance.
This same strategy could help save the lives of 3.5 million Europeans in the next decade, Human recently told a health summit in Johannesburg.