Holy smokes! Govt wins court battle over tobacco products
The High Court in Pretoria has dismissed an application by the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) to reverse the ban on the sale of tobacco products.
The court dismissed the application with costs on Friday.
One of the legal arguments pursued by Fita was the addictive nature of tobacco products – telling the court that it should therefore be considered an essential product
The High Court, however, found Fita’s argument to be without merit.
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“The fact that a substance is addictive does not render it essential. We therefore find no basis on which to interpret the level five regulations as permitting the sale of tobacco products,” the court said in its ruling.
“Simply because a good is addictive it does not necessarily follow that it is therefore necessary for human survival or required for basic human functionality.”
This is not the end of the road for the battle over the sale of tobacco products, with separate case set to be heard in the Western Cape High Court.
An application by British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) and nine others to unban the sale of tobacco products will be heard in August.