The major argument is that the government has banned the sale of cigarettes under level 3 of the national lockdown but people are still able to buy them on the black market, and the officials know about it because they themselves continue to smoke.
Government officials say the number of admissions to hospital emergency rooms from alcohol-related crimes and vehicle accidents had been reduced significantly while alcohol was also still banned. Meanwhile, supporters of the ban on cigarette sales say smoking weakens the respiratory system, which is attacked by the virus.
Arguments in favour of the latter ban also come from local doctors and public health experts, who say there are no good arguments in favor of people continuing to smoke in any context. There are also anecdotal reports of smokers using this period and the ban to quit smoking. Meanwhile, hospitals are also said to have experienced dramatic drops in trauma cases which appear to be directly linked to the alcohol ban.
One trauma nurse at Johannesburg’s Charlotte Maxeke hospital was quoted as saying: “Those that are calling for the lifting of the alcohol ban have no idea how much relief we are seeing.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that alcohol is “associated with a range of communicable and non-communicable diseases that make a person more vulnerable to Covid-19.”
On the other hand, the SA Revenue Service (SARS), whichhas an estimated R300 million in lost taxes, is against the ban of cigarettes. SARS has also been lobbying for a repeal of thealcohol ban, while the South African Breweries (SAB) hastold government that thousands of jobs are at stake if its breweries are unable to operate.
Tobacco Wars author Johann van Loggerenberg told Daily Maverick that it is probable that criminal syndicates, which previously focused on other contraband, have now shifted attention to tobacco due to the enormous market offered by South Africa’s estimated 11 million smokers.
“It is widely reported that cigarette smugglers are enjoying the payday of their lives,” said Van Loggerenberg.
Alcohol, much like cigarettes, had also been sold at much higher prices while still banned on levels 5 and 4 of the lockdown.
Although the government initially gave no clear reasons for the prohibition on alcohol sales, President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the ban by stating that, “There are proven links between the sale and consumption of alcohol and violent crime, motor vehicle accidents and other medical emergencies at a time when all public and private resources should be preparing to receive and treat vast numbers of Covid-19 patients”.
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