Fuming smokers protest in ‘drive slow’ along N1

Smokers Unite SA came together on Wednesday afternoon, to protest against the regulations government has placed over the sale of cigarettes.

Cigarette sales have been banned under the Covid-19 regulations, leading to smokers to fume over the decision, saying it was an infringement of their rights.

Smokers Unite SA members drove slowly along the N1 highway southbound from Pretoria to Johannesburg, in protest against the ban.

Leader of the Smoke Unite SA, Angelique Schlebusch said members came together to demand their right to smoke back from the government.

“We are really stuck in a place where we as smokers feel that enough is enough. Depression among our lot is increasing daily,”
said Schlebusch.

“When one opens a social media platform, you read about people committing suicide.

“People don’t have the financial support to get the necessary medical treatment to help cure the withdraw symptoms that accompany
not smoking,” she said.

According to Schlebusch, smokers paid “a lot of money on (illicit) cigarettes when they can actually take that money to buy food”.

Karien Smit said she was protesting on behalf of the vaping community.

“We are all small business owners and our rights are being taken away to conduct business,” said Smit.

“We fall under the same rules as the tobacco industry.”

Smit said that vaping was not tobacco and that workers in the industry wanted their jobs back.

Smokers Unite SA protest was to prove a point to government that they were paying “so much for the use of cigarettes but yet there are so
many that don’t have jobs”.

Watch the video of the Leader of the Smoke Unite SA, Angelique Schlebusch. Please note, this video is in Afrikaans.

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