17 of high school kids out of 25 000 South African high school learners surveyed vape. And of the kids who were vaping, 61 reported signs of addiction, such as not being able to get through a day without using their vape.
Yet, the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, which will regulate e-cigarettes, has been before Parliament since 2018 and has not passed.
Interference from the tobacco industry, says the 2025 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, which was released this week, has a lot to do with the delay. The index looks into what extent governments allow the tobacco industry to interfere with policymaking.
Richard van Zyl-Smit, the University of Cape Town pulmonologist who led that study and runs the only government hospital smoking cessation clinic in the country, says as Parliament continues to discuss the merits of electronic cigarettes as safer alternatives to tobacco and the need for a multitude of vape flavours, immeasurable harm is befalling our children.
Intodays newsletter, Tanya Pampalone explains that while the Tobacco Control Bill sits in Parliament, weve normalised nicotine addiction by allowing our kids to vape. Sign up for our newsletter today.
COMMENT
Let me be clear upfront. I am not a tobacco policy person, nor am I a tobacco economics person. I am a pulmonologist who treats people with tobacco-related lung disease. I am a researcher who studies the impact of tobacco, nicotine and electronic cigarettes on health. I run the only government hospital smoking cessation clinic in the country.