'Ban will harm our business'

THE recently proposed draft regulations on smoking in public places has triggered panic among business owners who fear losing profits.

The regulation, which will soon be up for public debate, was proposed by Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and will make smoking in public even more difficult.

The draft prohibits places of entertainment from having cigarette-vending machines and it also prevents smoking in any public building, including restaurants.

Many Johannesburg businesses described the draft bill as a witch hunt that is set to destroy their businesses while smokers said it was a waste of time.

Comfort Dlamini, general manager of Cofi, a nightclub in Rosebank, Johannesburg, said if passed, the regulation would upset his business.

"Sometimes I have guys that buy expensive cigars to the tune of between R 500 to R1200 per cigar. They will buy as many as they want just to get the ladies' attention, Dlamini said.

"Where am I going to recover that money from if we are not allowed to sell cigarettes or cigars?

"It will take time for patrons to get used to that regulation and actually understand it. It will also chase patrons away."

Chris Moustakis, who manages Nino's in Rosebank, said smokers were the biggest spenders and that his business would struggle if the regulation was passed.

At his outlet, smokers are allowed to smoke only on the outside deck where they are also served food, which the draft bill prohibits.

Moustakis said: "The government is on a witch hunt.

"The government makes a lot of money from cigarette tax. We took a knock five years ago when the government came with stricter laws to stop smoking in public places.

"They wanted secluded smoking sections and it cost us a lot of money to make those adjustments. Now they don't want any smoking inside restaurants. This is an extreme measure."

The Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (Tisa) said the draft was restrictive and has submitted its concerns to Motsoaledi's office.

"We could not find any provision in the act empowering the minister to prescribe that people cannot be served food, beverages or be entertained or that smokers are to be discouraged from remaining in the area longer than is necessary to smoke a cigarette," said Tisa CEO Francois van der Merwe.

Zenzi Sisilana, a smoker of two years, said the proposed regulation was a violation of her rights. "Smokers have freedoms too. Where are we supposed to smoke now?"

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Smoking areas shrink

WHAT do the proposed draft regulations on smoking in public places entail?

• No person may smoke a tobacco product in any public place;
• No smoking will be allowed in the following outdoor public places:

beaches where public bathing is permitted, not less than 50m away from the swimming area, as well as stadiums, arenas, zoos, premises of school or childcare facilities, outdoor eating or drinking places, venues where outdoor events take place, covered walkways and covered parking areas.

• A person in control of an outside public place may designate outdoor smoking areas subject to certain provisions such as;

no person shall smoke within a 10m distance from a window or doorway to a public place; no ashtrays be placed where smoking is not allowed and no person under 18 will be allowed in a smoking area.

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sifilel@sowetan.co.za