Data from the first Global Adult Tobacco Survey conducted in South Africa (GATS-SA) highlights the urgent need to strengthen South Africa’s tobacco control legislation through passing the proposed Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, according to Dr Catherine Egbe, survey lead investigator and specialist scientist within the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs Research Unit.

Implemented for the first time in South Africa in 2021, the GATS, a component of the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS), provides a global standard for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use and tracking key tobacco control indicators. While the full report will be published in 2023, the GATS Factsheet containing key findings was launched on World No Tobacco Day 2022 by the Deputy Minister of Health Dr Dhlomo. A hybrid seminar is being hosted to dig deeper into some of these key findings. The implications of the data will be discussed with policymakers, media and health organisations at SAMRC in Pretoria on 11 August.

“In line with the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) guidelines, South Africa now has up-to-date and quality data to monitor tobacco use,” says Egbe. “Passing the Bill will bring South Africa closer to fulfilling its FCTC commitments, measures which have been effective globally in scaling back tobacco use. The insights from GATS-SA are particularly important at this time, further reinforcing the need to pass the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, and also providing benchmark data that will enable us to monitor its impact in the future.” Dr Lynn Moeng-Mahlangu, Chief Director: Health Promotion, Nutrition and Oral Health at National Department of Health says, “As a monitoring tool, GATS is conducted repeatedly over time to continuously provide up-to-date information on the trends of the tobacco epidemic in implementing countries. Similarly, South Africa hopes to engage in repeated surveillance to ensure continuous availability of data to aid in the design, implementation, and evaluation of tobacco control programs in the country.”

Closed for public comment in 2018, the Bill has since been making its way through government processes. News that the Forum of South African Directors-General (FOSAD) approved the Bill to move to Cabinet has been welcomed by South Africa’s health organisations forming part of Protect our Next, an advocacy body of which SAMRC is an active member. Zanele Mthembu, Public Health Policy and Development Consultant and the South Africa Country Co-ordinator, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) says, “Much has been achieved by the National Department of Health this year in the processing of the 2018 Bill. Every step takes the Bill closer to getting to Cabinet for approval. We are pleased that FOSAD approved the Bill to move to Cabinet on 1 August – a major step forward.”

Key findings from GATS show that South Africans have a huge burden of tobacco use, with 12.7 million of persons aged 15 years or older using tobacco, representing a prevalence rate of 29.4%. GATS-SA further reveals South Africa’s need to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke, showing that 18% of adults were exposed to tobacco smoke inside their homes.  South Africans spend a large amount of money on manufactured cigarettes in a country with high levels of poverty.  Median prices paid for cigarettes, at R263 per month, further suggest that smokers who are on social grants are spending a large chunk of their grants to but tobacco products instead of food and other household essentials. GATS-SA has provided South Africa with vital data to monitor not only tobacco use trends, but also societal knowledge levels and perceptions of tobacco products, says Mthembu. “The fact that about 88.4% of adults support the ban on smoking in indoor public places confirms that people are conscious of their constitutional rights, mainly the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being as enshrined in Section 24a of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. This high level of
support for a 100% ban of smoking in indoor public places confirms that the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill is people-centred and that government is adhering to their constitutional mandate to provide conducive and health-enhancing environments for our society.” 

Egbe highlights that at least two-thirds of current smokers planned to or were thinking of quitting smoking. “This finding suggests that most South Africans who use tobacco are open to cessation interventions and underscores the need for government to provide support for the use of evidence-based cessation aids.”

Bintou Camara, the Regional Director for Africa Programs for CTFK, says the fact that South Africa has among the highest adult tobacco use rates in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the highest of any country in the region that has carried out a GATS survey, is a major cause for concern among health officials and civil society groups concerned with public health. “GATS-SA results represent a critical alert for the government of South Africa to prioritize addressing the tobacco use epidemic as a readily available solution to reducing heart disease, lung disease, cancer and other illnesses linked with tobacco use. Therefore, we urge the government of South Africa to take action to protect the health of its citizens by enacting a comprehensive tobacco
control legislation before rates of tobacco use and tobacco related diseases increase even more.”  “We can’t argue with the facts. Government now has all the empirical evidence needed to support and progress every aspect of the measures in the new Bill,” concludes Egbe. “We look forward to seeing this Bill passed so that South Africans are better protected from tobacco harm.”

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NOTE TO THE EDITOR:
The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) was undertaken by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) commissioned by the National Department of Health (NDoH).

Implemented for the first time in South Africa in 2021, the GATS, a component of the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS), provides a global standard for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use and tracking key tobacco control indicators. It is a nationally representative household survey that monitors tobacco use among adults aged 15 years and older, using a standard protocol. The survey’s primary focus was to investigate the extent of the burden of tobacco use in the country, and on exposure to second-hand smoke among South Africans.

PRESS PACK:
 GATS-SA Factsheet
 GATS-SA Factsheet (simplified highlights infographic)

REGISTER FOR HYBRID SEMINAR ON 11 AUGUST:
Virtual registration:
GATS-SA and the Control of Tobacco and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill
Please advise if you would like to attend in person.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Tamaryn Brown
Protect our Next
Cell: + 27 (0)84 3510560
E-mail: Tamaryn@connectmedia.co.za