Major institutions and ordinary South Africans are supporting the law banning smoking in public areas and workplaces.
Thousands of South Africans, as well as owners of food chains, shopping malls, schools and workplaces have responded positively to laws banning smoking in public places.
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People have both sought to quit smoking and stood up for their right to clean air, while businesses including Nando's Chickenland, Liberty Properties and Crawford Schools have successfully transformed their institutions into smoke-free environments.
Smokers want to quit
The Cancer Association of South Africa’s (CANSA) Toll-free line jammed five times under the volume of calls received in first 19 working days after the Tobacco Control Amendment Act came into effect on 1 January 2001. At least 115 calls related to issues around the law, another 279 to the law and how to quit smoking and 130 were about how to quit smoking, says Theresa van der Merwe, National Co-ordinator, Health Promotion, CANSA.
CANSA has responded to these queries by faxing sixty copies of the new tobacco law, and mailing another 50 to businesses. They have also mailed 300 booklets on ‘How to quit smoking.’
“The process is ongoing and it is encouraging to see that people are responding positively to the legislation,” says Van der Merwe.
Visitors have also been standing up for their right to a smoke-free environment in shopping malls across the country.
“We’ve had customers follow a shopper who is smoking in the mall and then call centre management from their cell phone to ask what we intend to do about it,” says Neville Koen, who coordinated the implementation of the tobacco legislation for Liberty Properties. The company owns 108 properties including seven shopping malls across the country, Sandton City, Eastgate and Alberton City in Gauteng, Greenacres in Port Elizabeth, Promenade in Nelspruit, Liberty Centre in Welkom and Middestad Mall in Cape Town.
“We are complying with the law because we believe it’s fair and tenants who do not comply will be penalised for breaching the terms of their lease. The majority of the public seems to support our stance and non-smokers have also taken it upon themselves to ask smokers to stop,” he adds.
The response to a smoke-free Sandton Square has also been encouraging: “It hasn’t been half as bad as we had expected and people are adapting and changing,” says Centre Manager Marc du Toit.
The 164 Nando's Chickenland stores have been smoke-free since November and the change “has not been a big issue,” says Deputy MD Fernando Guimaraes.
Crawford Schools have never allowed students to smoke and they also had a very positive response when they announced that their 18 schools in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng would be smoke-free for staff and visitors too. “Staff generally were comfortable with the policy change,” says Marketing Manager, Kevin Lovell.
Temporary unease
CANSA believes any unease about the restrictions on smoking in public places will be temporary. “We believe it is only a matter of time until people become accustomed to not smoking in restaurants and shopping malls, the same way they became accustomed to not smoking in movie theatres and on airlines.”
Businesses who require assistance in understanding the legislation or with implementation of the new regulations, can obtain CANSA’s free publication, ‘A Guide on How to Create a Smoke Free Workplace,’ by contacting Theresa van der Merwe at CANSA on (021) 689-5347.
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Major institutions and ordinary South Africans are supporting the law banning smoking in public areas and workplaces.
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