Latest news with #cigaretteban
Bloomberg
08-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
BAT Says South Africa Losing $1.6 Billion to Illicit Cigarettes
South Africa has become one of the world's biggest markets for illicit cigarette sales losing around 28 billion rand ($1.6 billion) a year to tax evasion, according to a new report. While Africa's most industrialized economy has long struggled to prevent cigarettes being smuggled from neighboring countries, domestic manufacturers have also increased under-the-counter production, spurred by the country's pandemic-era cigarette ban.
BBC News
20-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Cleethorpes beachgoers share thoughts on smoking ban
A survey by campaign group Action on Smoking and Health shows public support for smoke-free beaches. People on Cleethorpes beach had mixed Gorski puffs on a from his own house, it's one of the few places he can legally enjoy a a YouGov survey suggest significant support in Yorkshire and the Humber for smoke-free beaches. A total of 1,125 people were surveyed, of which 61% would back a ban. As waves lap the golden sands on the Lincolnshire beach, Maciej offers his says: "There's a time and place to do it and if you can't do it on a beach it should be a designated area somewhere."I remember when you could smoke in pubs, now you can't do it and people got used to it. It's just another place you can't do it."However, despite being a smoker himself, Steve Granger says he agrees with the ban."Yes, we are smoking now but I'll make sure it goes into an ashtray or a bin rather than just throw it away on a beach," he says."Especially when there are children about. If people just throw their cigarette still lit on the beach, nobody knows who can step in it." Although Jayne Fitzpatrick supports the smoking ban, she believes vaping should still be allowed."I don't think you should smoke cigarettes because I think it's a lot of smell and it's got the hot end and you could burn the children," she says."But I don't think they [vapes] should be banned because they can't harm any children or anybody walking by but the cigarettes would if they put them out on the floor and they didn't go out."While there is currently no ban on smoking on beaches in Lincolnshire, two beaches in East Sussex have already become voluntary smoke-free spaces. Simon Clark, director of pro-smoking group Forest, thinks the ban is "absolutely ridiculous".He says: "Of course smokers should be considerate to people in their immediate vicinity but there is absolutely no justification for a ban on smoking on beaches because there is no health risk to anybody apart from the smoker themselves."Forest encourages smokers to use pocket ashtrays and for local authorities to provide more cigarette bins in public spaces. 'Eager for action' According to the Office for National Statistics, six million adults smoke, but the number is 2007, England banned smoking in all enclosed public areas, including pubs and restaurants. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is currently going through Parliament and plans to extend the indoor smoking ban to outdoor areas like schools, children's playgrounds and 1 July, France will ban smoking in all outdoor areas commonly used by children, including beaches, parks, school areas, bus stops and sports March 2024, Benllech and Trearddur Bay became the first smoke-free beaches in Wales with others also introducing a voluntary smoking Crosby, associate director for the Humber and North Yorkshire Centre for Excellence in Tobacco Control, says: "We need bold, continued action to prevent uptake, help smokers quit and reduce harm."The survey clearly shows the public is not only on board – they're eager for more action to make it happen." Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
News.com.au
31-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Lung foundation calls for supermarkets to be banned from selling tobacco
Supermarkets should be banned from selling cigarettes, the Lung Foundation of Australia says. The foundation has floated the ban as a means to stop smokers being tempted to buy a pack or a pouch alongside their groceries. 'We need everyone from government to big corporations to put the lung health of Australians ahead of profits from a product that kills 66 Australians daily,' foundation chief executive Mark Brooke said. 'Previous news reports have highlighted Coles estimates their cigarette sales each year is enough to kill more than 1600 Australians and cause tobacco-related medical costs of more than $300m a year.' Former smoker Sarah Waters has joined the campaign for cigarettes to be banned from supermarkets. Ms Waters started smoking aged 13, and continued for nearly 30 years. 'It isn't easy to quit but not being able to buy cigarettes so easily would have made a big difference. When I started smoking there was no age limits in place, and they were marketed to young people as being cool.' Prince Charles Hospital thoracic physician Henry Marshall said nicotine is as addictive as heroin. 'The difference is you can't buy heroin with your weekly shopping.' 'It is hard to fight an addiction while also being able to buy tobacco products so easily.' Professor Marshall has thrown his voice behind the lung foundation's calls for a ban. 'People who smoke deserve more help from health professionals and the government,' he said. 'I would like to see people demand action from the multinational tobacco companies who have known smoking causes lung cancer since before 1954 and continued to sell products to make profit off Australians. It is time we said, 'enough is enough'.' The Lung Foundation is calling for the government to ban supermarkets from selling tobacco products. In response, Coles said in a statement it is providing smokers with a legal way to obtain tobacco. 'Coles complies with all Commonwealth, State and Territory laws aimed at minimising the negative health effects of tobacco use, however we recognise the need to provide choice to those customers who wish to purchase these products legally,' a spokesperson told NewsWire. Woolworths has been approached for comment. Earlier this year, IGA reported it had lost $150m of revenue over three years, as tobacco black market sales skyrocketed across the country. Australians have comprehensively turned to the black market for cigarettes and tobacco, as the tax on legal smokes becomes unaffordable. The taxes the federal government takes from tobacco have plummeted from $16.3bn five years ago, to $7.4bn this year. Smoking rates have fallen from 20 per cent of the population in 2001, to about 8 per cent now, the latest government data shows.
