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By Anita Dangazele
- South Africa’s proposed Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill bans indoor smoking in public spaces and carries prison terms for those who break the rules.
- Shebeen, tavern and spaza owners who fail to enforce the indoor smoking ban face up to 10 years in prison under the Bill’s current draft penalties.
A new law that could land shebeen and spaza owners in jail for a decade is moving through Parliament.
The Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill passed a key vote in the Portfolio Committee on Health on Wednesday, 24 June. MPs voted to accept the Bill in principle, which means it moves forward to a clause-by-clause process where amendments will be debated.
But the penalties already in the draft text are serious. A business owner or employer who fails to enforce an indoor smoking ban, or who allows staff to work around second-hand smoke, faces a fine and up to 10 years in prison. The person caught smoking indoors faces a fine and up to three months in jail.
If you smoke in a private home that also runs as a crèche, the penalty jumps to five years.
The Bill bans smoking and vaping in all public indoor spaces. It also enforces plain packaging with graphic health warnings, bans all retail displays of tobacco and vaping products, and prohibits advertising and sponsorship of cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
MPs across the ANC, DA, EFF, ActionSA and MK Party voted to move the Bill forward. The Freedom Front Plus was the only party to vote against it. All parties that supported the motion said the penalties and enforcement clauses must be revised before the Bill becomes law.
Committee chairperson Faith Muthambi said the Bill, in its current form, treats cigarettes and vaping products the same way. That will change. The committee has accepted that the two must be regulated differently, based on their different health risks.
The clause-by-clause process, where MPs will work through the Bill line by line, is next. The 10-year and three-month penalties are among the provisions targeted for revision.
The Bill has not yet passed. It still needs to clear the National Assembly before it becomes law.
Pictured above: Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health voted on 24 June 2026 to advance the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill to clause-by-clause deliberations.
Image source: Pexels
