Parliament committee backs Tobacco and Vaping Bill but calls for major changes

Vote and political support

The desirability motion for the bill was supported by ten votes from the ANC, DA, ActionSA, EFF and the MK Party. The Freedom Front Plus voted against the motion. With the motion approved, the bill will move to clause-by-clause deliberations where MPs can consider amendments before the committee finalises its report and sends it to the National Assembly for further debate.

What the bill proposes

As presented, the bill seeks to tighten rules on smoking and vaping by:

• banning indoor smoking and vaping in public spaces,
• requiring plain packaging with graphic health warnings,
• removing all retail product displays, and
• prohibiting advertising, sponsorships and promotion of tobacco and e-cigarette products.

It also proposes restrictions on sales through vending machines in certain private spaces where children or non-smokers are present, treats vaping products the same as traditional cigarettes, and includes proposed penalties that could include lengthy jail terms.

Concerns raised in public hearings

The committee conducted hearings in 27 municipalities across all nine provinces, with almost 7,900 attendees, 1,113 oral submissions and about 40,000 written submissions received. MPs warned the bill’s final form must address concerns raised during those hearings, including:

• product differentiation,
• penalties,
• illicit trade,
• enforcement, and
• the impact on businesses and consumers.

Calls for differentiation and evidence-based regulation

Committee chairperson Faith Muthambi said submissions and committee deliberations made clear that “not all tobacco and nicotine products carry the same risk.” She said the committee has endorsed the need for differentiation and that the Department of Health had accepted differentiation as a guiding principle in responses to public comments in March 2026.

“We have now learned it is not the best approach for our public,”

Muthambi said the bill in its current form treated combustible and non-combustible products the same, but that would be addressed during the clause-by-clause process. She added South Africa had an opportunity to create a regulatory framework based on evidence and proportionality and noted that “the world is watching on how we do it.”

Party positions

ActionSA’s Kgosi Letlape supported the motion and said regulation must recognise harm-reduction principles, arguing for “truthful communication based on science and not morality.”

The DA raised concerns about what it described as the “arbitrary grouping” of products with different risk profiles and warned about illicit trade, plain packaging, advertising restrictions, penalties and proposed smoking bans. MP Michele Clarke said nicotine-based and non-nicotine-based products have very different health risks and need separation in regulation.

The EFF backed the bill while urging a science-based approach. EFF MP Naledi Chirwa-Mpungose said the bill “must explicitly distinguish between combustible and non-combustible products. Not all tobacco and nicotine products carry the same risk profile.”

The MK Party’s Moshome Motubatse supported progressing the bill but emphasised that significant amendments were required, saying there was broad consensus that regulation is necessary to protect public health, reduce youth access and ensure industry accountability.

Next steps

With the desirability motion approved, MPs will now work clause-by-clause to consider amendments. Muthambi said it is the committee’s responsibility to ensure the final legislation is workable and enforceable and that it achieves the desired public-health outcomes.