Fita’s legal battle against government to lift cigarette ban goes up in smoke

The Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that cigarette sales will resume in the next phase of the country’s Covid-19 lockdown. 

“We are of the view that this, together with the tax relief extended to cigarette manufacturers and other industries announced by Minister Tito Mboweni yesterday, are steps in the right direction by government in mitigating the damaging effects of the lockdown period,” the association said in a statement on Friday. 

Fita added that the steps announced in the address on Thursday evening “are in line with what Fita had proposed to government throughout the current lockdown period in our attempts at engagement with them”.

Fita was in the process of serving government with legal papers to force it to lift the ban on selling tobacco products, but have now decided against it. 

On Wednesday, the day papers were due to be served, Fita said it would give Ramaphosa until Friday before initiating legal proceedings. 

This follows the association’s 24-page lawyer’s letter handed to government on Monday, in which Fita asked that the nationwide prohibition of cigarettes be reconsidered. 

In the letter, Fita said the ban was forcing people to unlawfully obtain illegal tobacco products and contravene lockdown regulations, and causing devastating economic effects and job losses. 

Fita confirmed it would no longer pursue the legal steps intended to be initiated against government, and committed to continue engaging with government “to obtain clarity on what the implications of the next phase in government’s efforts at combatting the virus mean for our industry along the entire value chain”.

(Compiled by Nica Richards. Background reporting by News24 Wire)

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