Nationwide protest against cigarette ban set for Wednesday

Queensburgh resident, Dwayne Robinson, who heads the Durban branch of Let Our Voices Be Heard SA, is spearheading a protest calling for the ban on cigarette sales to be lifted.

The nation-wide protest is set for Wednesday, 8 July and in Durban, Robinson said the action was expected to draw a huge crowd leaving the Pavillion Shopping Centre and heading to the Durban High Court from 7am.

The protest, under the banner #SmokersUniteSA, according to Robinson, will take the form of a slow drive departing simultaneously from various assembly points.

In addition to the protest action in Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nelspruit and Pretoria residents are also set to take part in the protest.

The move follows the halting of the sale of cigarettes at the start of the nationwide lockdown in late March 2020.

This ban was extended under level 4, and again under level 3 of the lockdown.

Last week president Cyril Ramaphosa said the ban would be lifted but was not able to give an exact date.

Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news

Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).