A major new study by the University of Cape Town (UCT) shows that almost all of the country’s 11 million smokers have been able to get their hands on entjies during the lockdown.
The study concludes that the entjie ban is backfiring badly and should be lifted as soon as possible, Tax Justice South Africa (TJSA) founder Yusuf Abramjee said on Saturday.
The research unit on the economics of excisable products at UCT found that more than 90% of smokers had bought cigarettes despite the government’s prohibition of all tobacco sales, he said.
Smokers are now paying up to R12 a loose entjie, many had to purchase unfamiliar brands, while some had to turn to “drug dealers”, “smugglers”, or “black market traders”, the research report said.
Professor Corné van Walbeek, head of the UCT unit, said it was a mistake to continue the ban during lockdown Level 4.
“While the original intention of the ban was to support public health, the reality right now is that the disadvantages of the ban greatly outweigh the advantages,” he said.
“The current sales ban is feeding an illicit market that will be increasingly difficult to eradicate, even when the lockdown and the Covid-19 crisis is over.
“The government should lift the ban on cigarette sales as soon as possible,” Van Walbeek said.
Abramjee agreed and added: “It is impoverishing citizens driven to pay exorbitant prices, depriving the state of R35 million a day in lost excise duties, and spreading the virus by encouraging smokers to travel more widely and engage with more people.”