Sections of tobacco laws challenged
Jump to full article: Business Report (za), 2009-12-06
Author: Wiseman Khuzwayo
Intro: British American Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) has attacked the National Council Against Smoking for issuing a statement that was "deliberately mischievous, provocative and misleading" regarding a constitutional challenge launched by the company against certain provisions of the recently promulgated Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act.
Batsa has filed an application before the North Gauteng High Court to have the legislation amended to allow one-to-one communication with its consenting adult smokers.
The ban came into operation last August.
The company said: "This is a matter between Bat South Africa and the Department of Health and we believe that sensationalising the issue in the media will not help to reach an amicable solution. To the contrary, it will only serve to further mislead the public."
The council said that if the prohibition of one-to-one communication was declared unconstitutional, "such a contorted interpretation would expressly disregard the direct intentions of Parliament".
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