Some spaza shop owners say the government’s proposed ban on the sale of single cigarettes – also called “loose draws” – will kill their businesses, which will then be taken over by “a guy on the corner who doesn’t care about rules”.
This comes as the government holds oral hearings on the hotly debated draft Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, a move that could pave the way for sweeping changes to smoking and vaping laws.
The bill proposes, among others, to introduce graphic health warnings and plain packaging for all tobacco and nicotine-containing products, including e-cigarettes, and banning the sale of single cigarettes.
While the bill seeks to tighten tobacco controls, some spaza shop owners believe that it will not do what it seeks to achieve but will rather leave them at a disadvantage while their businesses of selling cigarettes will be taken over by rogue elements.
“Banning singles won’t stop smoking – it will just push people to buy from the guy on the corner who doesn’t care about rules,” said Thabo Mokoena, who owns a spaza shop in Soweto.
“The government makes the rules, and we are the ones feeling them in our pockets. 'Loose draw' sales are part of the township economy – you can’t just cut them without cutting our survival.”
Mokoena, like many other spaza shop owners Sowetan spoke to, said the proposed changes were deeply worrying.
He said people do not always have R60 for a pack, but were able to manage R3 for one.
“A single cigarette might seem small, but to me, it’s a steady income,” he said.
Mokoena’s words were echoed by another tuck shop owner, Thandeka Mbelengwa, who said: “If they ban this, it is like telling us to shut down. When customers can’t afford a pack, they will still buy one or two to get through the day.”
Mbelengwe said she was not aware of the proposed bill.
Even when we went out on the road, the illicit trade was the one [complained] about, and also, informal trading is another issue we need to look at because there are people who make a living with it.
— Committee member Michéle Clarke
“No one came to explain; they just make these decisions far from here. Selling single cigarettes might pay for bread, sugar, or paraffin by the end of the day. We are not trying to fight the law, but the law must also understand the ground we stand on.”
Chairperson of parliament’s portfolio committee on health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, said the committee had received 60 submissions from various groups and individuals, and was still processing 20 more.
“Hopefully, by month-end, we will be done with hearings and at the beginning of September, we will then meet and say who said what, and what our view is. We should be able to finish the process by the end of September and present it to the National Assembly [and then the National Council of Provinces] for its consideration and adoption,” he said.
Committee member Michéle Clarke said the submissions and public hearings so far have revealed widespread concerns about illicit trading, packaging, and the bill’s potential effect on informal traders.
“Even when we went out on the road, the illicit trade was the one [complained] about, and also, informal trading is another issue we need to look at because there are people who make a living with it. They need the money to put food on the table.
“A lot of them are also unhappy about plain packaging as proposed in the bill. Our job is to ensure that the health risks are mitigated, but we must be very cautious about how we deal with this bill in terms of affecting the economy, especially in these trying times in SA.”
For the SA Tobacco Transformation Alliance, one of its concerns includes the proposal of plain packaging, saying that in a market with significant illicit trade, where enforcement was non-existent, it meant that only the legal industry [about 30% of the market] would comply.
“The illicit industry would love this to become law. With no branding, it will be paradise for counterfeiting well-known, legal, reputable brands,” it said.
Nhlanhla, a spaza shop owner from Soweto, said he, like Mbelengwe, did not know about the proposed bill.
“I don’t think it makes sense,” he said. “The packaging part will fuel illicit trading, and how will the consumer know what they are smoking, especially the ones who are used to smoking the premium brands?
“Our market is people who buy single cigarettes – people are broke and don’t have money to buy a pack. A lot of people here are not working, so most of them buy singles. So, if we are not allowed to sell like that any more, then we are going to lose customers. The cheapest is R1.50 and the premium ones are between R3 and R3.50. We make more money selling single cigarettes than we make selling packs.”
SowetanLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.