TOBACCO PRODUCTS BILL: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE VOTES TO CONTINUE PROCESS

TOBACCO PRODUCTS BILL: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE VOTES TO CONTINUE PROCESS

• 24 June 2026
• Parliament
• SA Legal Academy

Having voted on the ‘desirability’ of the Tobacco Products & Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, the National Assembly’s Health Committee has decided to continue a parliamentary process begun in December 2022, when the Bill was tabled. This was announced in a media statement among other things noting the Bill’s alignment with the 2003 WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – which , ‘defines tobacco control as a range of supply, demand and harm reduction strategies aimed at reducing consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke’.

The Freedom Front Plus was the only party represented both in Parliament and the committee itself to vote against the motion of desirability. However, Democratic Alliance (DA), uMkhonto weSizwe, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and ActionSA representatives expressed serious reservations about certain provisions, which could well be amended. With that in mind, once finalised, the Bill is likely to:

• differentiate between:
  • combustible and non-combustible products, and
  • nicotine and non-nicotine products
• rationalise existing display and advertising restrictions
• include revised provisions for plain packaging
• strengthen existing measures against illicit trade
• strengthen existing protection measures for informal traders, and
• include revised provisions regarding:
  • unfettered ministerial powers, and
  • excessive penalties.

In addition, the DA’s representative expressed reservations about provisions in the Bill deemed to:

• undermine:
  • the right to privacy, and
  • freedom of choice
• have negative implications for intellectual property rights, and
• fly in the face of modern retail practices such as online purchasing.

The ‘desirability’ vote followed lengthy deliberations begun in September 2024, shortly after the Bill’s revival. As SA Legal Academy has regularly reported, the controversial proposed new piece of legislation lapsed when South Africa’s sixth post-1994 Parliament rose for the May 2024 elections.

The EFF has called for stronger health-related provisions that – in their view – should include robust awareness-raising campaigns. The party also expressed concern about the Bill’s negative job-related implications.

• Bill
• committee media statement
• WHO framework convention
• SA Legal Academy November 2025 report

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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