http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/south_africa.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/News/Article.aspx?id=847533 http://tobacco.org/news/271394.html “Smoking a Twisp looks, tastes and feels like smoking a conventional tobacco cigarette, but without the smoke, ash and harmful effects,” said Philip Bartholomew, the South African distributor. . . . Zanele Mthembu of the Department of Health concurred: “The department would like to distance itself from the launch of this product as this has been done with no regulatory oversight by the health authorities. “The public should regard the product with considerable caution. It would need to be cleared by health authorities before it goes on sale in this country,” she said. But Bartholomew said he has sold 80 units since the e-cigarette was launched in South Africa last month, and claimed it helped him to quit smoking. Professor Chris Bolliger, a smoking-cessation specialist at Stellenbosch University, said the device appeared promising, but cautioned that it needed to be tested before it could be proven to be safe. “Actually, I quite like it, but as a scientist I want to stress that any new product, especially something that could be considered as medication, needs to be scientifically tested to prove that it is safe,” he said. Sunday Times South Africa Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amSgbUJCiMc0 http://tobacco.org/news/270970.html . Financiere Richemont SA, the world's largest jewelry maker, said five-month revenue gained 11 percent on Chinese demand for Cartier necklaces and Piaget watches. Sales rose 11 percent from April through August, the Geneva- based company said today in a statement, matching the 11 percent median of 12 analysts' estimates gathered by Bloomberg News. Growth weakened from the first quarter's 13 percent and Richemont said the U.S. market is slowing, while the luxury goods industry faces ``difficult'' conditions beneath the top end of the market. . . . The jeweler is splitting into a luxury-goods maker and an investment company at the same time that it spins off a 27 percent stake in British American Tobacco Plc to avoid higher taxes. The holding is co-owned by Remgro Ltd., which also is controlled by South Africa's billionaire Rupert family. Bloomberg News tmulier@bloomberg.net (Thomas Mulier) South Africa Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20080905054100929C850916 http://tobacco.org/news/270836.html Contraband cigarettes which, had they been legal would have incurred duties and tax in excess of R1-million, smuggled and counterfeit clothing and DVDs estimated to be worth about R2-million have been seized from a Mitchells Plain shop. Six computers and two vehicles used to transport the illegal cigarettes were also seized before the shop was closed, locked and sealed by members of the South African Revenue Service's (SARS) national enforcement unit and the South African Police Service's criminal investigation department. SARS spokesperson Adrian Lackay said one large retailer in Mitchells Plain and 11 other outlets in and around Cape Town were raided on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Independent Online natasha.joseph@inl.co.za (Natasha Joseph) South Africa Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.pretorianews.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=672&fArticleId=vn20080819105047979C728549 http://tobacco.org/news/270629.html Retailers caught selling tobacco products to teenagers under the age of 18 could face fines of R50 000 if new smoking legislation is passed. The current fine for selling tobacco products to under 16s is R10 000, but proposed amendments to existing legislation will see the age and fines increasing. The Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill has already been passed by the national assembly and will now be discussed by the national council of provinces. Pretoria News South Africa Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_South%20Africa&set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20080818111834186C194383 http://tobacco.org/news/270204.html If the proposed Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill is passed as law, the sale of tobacco products at hospitals and universities will be a thing of the past. The new law would also see the sale of tobacco products prohibited to people under the age of 18. The bill proposes that the minimum age for the legal sale of tobacco products be raised from 16 to 18. Briefing the standing committee on social development on the bill, a representative of the national Health Department said that among the steps to reduce the purchase of tobacco products by minors would be the regulation of the display of tobacco products at retail outlets. . . . The committee will hold public hearings on the bill, starting in George on Monday morning. The Independent Online South Africa Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=238422 http://tobacco.org/news/270198.html TWO Cape Town brothers convicted along with six co-accused of a string of serious crimes were “well-balanced” men, a church pastor told the Cape High Court yesterday. Pastor Richard de Beer, who visited Selwyn and Virgil de Vries regularly at the Goodwood Prison where they were being held, told the court rather than send the pair to prison, he would suggest he be allowed to prepare them for the Christian ministry. Both men – and their co-accused – were involved in the hijacking of cigarette-laden vehicles belonging to the British American Tobacco Company (BAT). De Beer was testifying before Judge Leigh Bozalek and assessors about his impression of the brothers, who will probably be sentenced this week together with their co-accused, on 25 counts of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, kidnappings, armed robberies, racketeering and money-laundering. . . . the pastor told the court both brothers had made a full confession to him, had come to their senses, and now wished to make peace with their Creator. De Beer said they were “deeply remorseful” about the suffering they had caused their families, and their experiences in prison had strengthened their faith. . . . Questioned by prosecutor Helene Booysen, De Beer said he was a lay preacher and had had no formal pastoral training. Daily Dispatch South Africa Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=125&art_id=vn20080818111834186C194383 http://tobacco.org/news/270180.html If the proposed Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill is passed as law, the sale of tobacco products at hospitals and universities will be a thing of the past. The new law would also see the sale of tobacco products prohibited to people under the age of 18. The bill proposes that the minimum age for the legal sale of tobacco products be raised from 16 to 18. Briefing the standing committee on social development on the bill, a representative of the national Health Department said that among the steps to reduce the purchase of tobacco products by minors would be the regulation of the display of tobacco products at retail outlets. The Independent Online South Africa Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/national.aspx?ID=BD4A822835 http://tobacco.org/news/270099.html The finding is important as it challenges the tobacco industry’s assertion that advertising serves to make consumers aware of different brands and does not directly encourage them to smoke. . . . The research, published in the peer review Journal of Health Economics, shows that the introduction of comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising reduced per capita consumption 23,5% in developing countries between1990 and 2005 , while partial bans cut per capita consumption 13,6%. However, the effects were much less dramatic in richer countries . . . “If you walk down a street in Nairobi, all you see is tobacco advertising,” he said. “In rich countries, a lot of products are advertised heavily and tobacco ads get lost among them.” . . . Blecher advocate s a total ban on tobacco advertising, saying the limited ban in place in SA, allows the industry to exploit the loopholes in the law. “If you ban one media, the industry moves its resources — it becomes marginally less effective, but it still has an effect,” he said. The Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill, which is before the National Council of Provinces, proposes further restrictions on advertising, only permitting those at the point of sale and in trade communication. Business Day bdonline@bdfm.co.za (Tamar Kahn Science and Health Editor) South Africa Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/080808/214/i4jaj.html http://tobacco.org/news/269846.html British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS.L) is seeking approval from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to obtain a secondary listing there to help Richemont and Remgro restructure their stakes in the company. Swiss luxury goods maker Richemont has a 19.4% interest in BAT, while South African investment holding group Remgro, which wants to separate its tobacco interests from other operations, owns a 10.7% stake. ShareCast South Africa Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=818660 http://tobacco.org/news/269830.html British American Tobacco (BAT) is set to become South Africa’s biggest listed company, challenging stalwarts like mining giant Anglo American for top spot on the JSE. At current market prices, BAT, which will have its secondary listing on the JSE, is valued at about R560-billion. Its primary listing will be in London. The new listing is a result of a massive, complex restructuring of the Rupert family-controlled Swiss luxury goods group Richemont and its local investment group Remgro. The restructuring will also bring about a massive payout to shareholders — R60-billion in the case of Remgro and just less than R120-billion for those with shares in Richemont . For the first time in the history of the Rupert family empire, neither Remgro nor Richemont will be invested in tobacco. . . . While Remgro has got rid of tobacco, Visser is optimistic about the future of BAT. The tobacco business remains sound and BAT is a good company with a footprint in developed and developing economies, he said. . . . But not everyone is happy. Yussuf Saloojee of the National Council Against Smoking said BAT’s listing is “regrettable, not only because of the product it sells but also because of its conduct”. He said the company sells its products to young people and has broken an advertising ban on a number of occasions. He encouraged people not to invest in the company as it is not socially responsible. Sunday Times South Africa Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page49?oid=219086&sn=Detail http://tobacco.org/news/269776.html After almost a century of being dominated by mining companies, a new king of the JSE is about to be crowned: cigarette company British American Tobacco (BAT). When the dust settles after a complex reorganisation of Remgro (JSE:REM) and Richemont (JSE:RCH), the result will be a new secondary listing on the JSE of the London based tobacco company, towards the end of October. The company's market cap will be around R560bn, edging out for top spot BHP Billiton Moneyweb cake@brothercake.net (Tim Cohen) South Africa Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.namibian.com.na/2008/August/national/081C3650CE.html http://tobacco.org/news/269622.html A CHANCE discovery of hundreds of boxes of cigarettes, hidden behind bags of charcoal, has tipped off Namibian Police and customs officers and their South African counterparts to a massive international smuggling syndicate that appears to stretch from Zimbabwe via Namibia to South Africa. A vigilant South African customs official at Vioolsdrift on Wednesday night discovered several hundred cartons of Peter Stuyvesant and Pacific Blue cigarettes hidden under a single row of charcoal during a routine inspection of a Namibian truck headed for Cape Town. The Namibian South Africa Namibia Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/article.aspx?ID=BD4A797907 http://tobacco.org/news/269098.html IF BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT), which is 10,6% held by local investment holding company Remgro, were to list on the JSE, the transaction would be significant for the domestic stock market because BAT’s market capitalisation, at £39bn, was similar to that of Anglo American, one of the JSE’s two largest stocks, according to Simon Raubenheimer, a senior analyst at Allan Gray. Allan Gray holds in the region of 5% of Remgro and Raubenheimer voiced his confidence in BAT’s ability to sustain and grow profits irrespective of global conditions. Last month, Remgro released a positive set of annual results and confirmed that a secondary listing for BAT on the South African bourse was under investigation. Remgro is splitting out its tobacco interests because of changes in the legal and financial environment in Luxembourg. This is where Remgro’s joint venture partner, Richemont, is listed. Remgro CEO Thys Visser said a South African listing for BAT would mean local shareholders could benefit from the distribution of shares. Business Day bdonline@bdfm.co.za (Renée Bonorchis Markets Editor ) South Africa Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.businessday.co.za/weekender/article.aspx?ID=BD4A804830 http://tobacco.org/news/269097.html TALK Radio 702’s outspoken medical expert Prof Harry Seftel is to receive an award from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for his tireless campaigning against tobacco products. Thanks in part to his work, SA has been at the forefront of the global move to devise stringent anti tobacco legislation. The unflappable Seftel is perhaps best known for his no-nonsense, no-holds-barred broadcasts on health issues, where no subject is considered taboo. But he has also been a long-time campaigner against smoking. He founded the National Council Against Smoking almost 35 years ago, and has consistently sought to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco. Business Day info@bday.co.za (TAMAR KAHN ) South Africa Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.epherald.co.za/herald/edlets/edl16_09072008.htm http://tobacco.org/news/268697.html MY wife and I decided to visit the Sports Bar at The Boardwalk Casino on Saturday to watch the Bok massacre, and we entered the venue with relish. No sooner had we been seated than we realised that many patrons were smoking. Incessantly! When we left immediately after the dismal showing of the Bokke we exited the doors in a billowing cloud of noxious gases, reeking of stale tobacco. Am I misunderstanding South African law or is smoking in any public place banned? The Herald South Africa Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT