Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa

Media statement 

Friday, 31 May 2019  

As the world observes today as World No Tobacco Day, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) would like to announce its full support of the Draft Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill that is aimed at protecting more people from the dire effects of both direct and indirect smoking in line with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). 

DENOSA is concerned that 20% of the country’s population is still smoking, and that since 2012 there has been no drop in the percentage of people who are smoking despite the growth in the population figures of South Africans. More concerning, however, is that the trend, according to the National Council Against Smoking, is that more and more young people are smoking. Moreover, deaths that are associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), of which smoking is a major contributor, are now 50%/50% with HIV/AIDS deaths, which is a concerning trend. And many of those affected are affected through passive smoking. 

Smoking not only leads to lung diseases, but a study by University of Pretoria produced evidence of heart, lung, cardiovascular system failures and changes that could lead to various cancers. Not only that. The socio-economic effects of smoking are devastating for South Africa too. The country spends R59 billion annually to deal with the effects of smoking in our healthcare facilities whereas the tobacco industry contributes a meagre R13 billion in taxes to the country. 

DENOSA supports that Treasury must increase taxes on tobacco as a way for the industry to pay for the damages it causes. We also support the Plain Packaging as proposed by the Bill whereby the packaging will be standard and with dangers of smoking clearly and largely depicted in the packaging as this has proven to work in reducing smoking especially among youths in countries like Australia and Singapore. 

The irony about smoking is that people pay in order to get sick, and that monies that are spent by poor families on buying cigarettes could support families with bread and milk instead.  

Nurses experience first-hand the effects of smoking patients, which changes the working conditions for worse for our members. 

If South Africa is to collectively take part in finding solutions to the problem of increasing smoking, the first start would have to be reduction of programmes or dramas that get played in media that indirectly promote or advertise smoking. The public broadcaster could play a crucial role in this regard. Provincial health departments could also assist, especially in provinces like Western Cape and Northern Cape where there is evidence of above-average patterns of smoking, in rolling out programmes that discourage smoking in partnership with all stakeholders.         

End 

Issued by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA)

For more information, contact: 

Cassim Lekhoathi, Acting General Secretary – 082 328 9671 

Simon Hlungwani, DENOSA President – 082 328 9635

Website: www.denosa.org.za

Facebook: DENOSA National Page 

Twitter: @DENOSAORG