South African industry wins tobacco reprieve

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The South African Duty Free Working Group has persuaded the government against including a clause banning duty-free tobacco sales in its forthcoming Tobacco Bill

The South African government has told the local travel-retail industry it will not pursue the proposal to ban duty-free tobacco sales announced last October. At a meeting on May 27 senior officials told representatives of the South African Duty Free Working Group that the move, proposed as part of the country's Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill 2004, was "off the table" with immediate effect.

Although the department of health maintained its opposition to the availability of cheap tobacco in duty-free, it acknowledged that the complexity of the industry required further consideration and said it would work with industry stakeholders over the next few years towards eliminating price differentials with the domestic market. The industry has been invited to participate in a forum considering the issues associated with the retailing of duty-free tobacco products in South Africa, to be set up by the department of health in the coming months

International Travel Retail Confederation director-general Keith Spinks, who is largely responsible for mobilising the South African industry campaign, said that whilst the decision could be considered as a significant achievement there remains a considerable job to be done addressing several issues raised by the department of health relating to the merchandising of tobacco in duty-free.