But less than a week later, one of his cabinet ministers reversed the decision for “health-related” reasons — specifically, that many smokers roll their cigarettes, then share them.
“The way tobacco is shared does not allow for social distancing,” said Dlamini-Zuma, adding it “actually encourages the spread of the virus.” Salim Abdool Karim, a leading epidemiologist and the government’s chief technical advisor on the COVID-19 pandemic, says the impact of tobacco on the crisis is outside his remit.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has told lawmakers he “didn’t like the continuous ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco, but I lost the debate and therefore I have to toe the line.” “The finance minister is giving the picture that there is still that machination… and is almost giving us the impression that being in this cabinet is horrible, like drinking Dettol every morning,” commented political analyst Ralph Mathekga.