When first introduced, strict rules about tobacco advertising in South Africa helped to cut smoking from 32 to 24 in a decade.
But 20 years later the country isnt the public health darling it once was, and adult smoking prevalence has stagnated at around 20.
Although a new draft Tobacco Bill was published in 2018 to get tobacco control back on track, its stalled for years, and its unclear when or if it will become law.
Whats behind the slow progress? The tobacco industry, suggests the research from the authors of this op-ed.
Intodays newsletter, Mia Malan and Linda Pretorius tells us why SAs tobacco Bill is stuck in limbo.Sign up for our newsletter today.
In the late 1990s, South Africa banned all tobacco advertising. No more did cigarettes appear on billboards or in newspapers and magazines, they werent allowed airtime on radio or TV, and tobacco sponsorships were taboo.
It helped to cut smoking from 32 to 24 by 2003, a decade after the country first introduced tobacco control laws.