The High Court in Pretoria will hear an application from the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) on the legality of the lockdown regulations which ban the sale of tobacco products in South Africa.
The association has received an answering affidavit from government. Government banned the sale of tobacco products as part of the enforcement of its lockdown regulations to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Tobacco ban nonsensical
In a written reply to the Democratic Alliance (DA), President Ramaphosa said that both submissions and medical literature were used when a decision to ban the sale of tobacco products was made.
He said the effects of smoking on public health were carefully considered, including the effects of COVID-19 on smokers given that the coronavirus is a respiratory illness.
In the video below, the DA says the ban on tobacco sales during Level 3 lockdown is nonsensical:
Devastating economic impact for tobacco traders
Informal traders have warned that their sources of income are being decimated by the ban.
In the video below, President of the South African Informal Traders Alliance Rosheda Muller says a further continuation of this ban will have a devastating impact on informal traders who are trying to make a living:
