Manufacturers were required to obtain licences for their vaping tobacco products with the South African Revenue Service (Sars) before June 1 and will have to submit their first excise duty account by July 28. Special storage warehouses for such products should be licensed with Sars.
The Vapour Products Association of South Africa (Vpasa) said the new tax would mean the loss of 2,250 vaping-related jobs in manufacturing, wholesale and retail. The broader sector was valued at R1.5bn in 2022.
According to Vpasa, the industry created more than 4,000 jobs by 2017, a figure it projects could rise to 14,000 by 2027.
A new study by the University of Pretoria found that advertising, curiosity and social influence are the reasons young South Africans start vaping, with many confessing to having poor diets containing no fruit and vegetables.
According to the head of the school of health systems and public health at the university, Prof Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, buyers of e-cigarettes at retail shops or mall kiosks said they were attracted to vaping by advertising as opposed to being motivated to quit cigarette smoking.
Conducted in collaboration with the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research, researchers found only 27.5% vaped in an attempt to quit smoking.
Ayo-Yusuf said the findings, released before World No Tobacco Day on Wednesday, were contrary to statements often made by the industry suggesting many people vaped as a means to quit smoking.
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The government’s new tax on nicotine vaping fluids came into effect on Thursday, sending many into a tizz over potential lost revenue and an increase in black market cigarettes.
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced in his budget speech in February last year that excise duty on vaping tobacco products would be introduced.
Nicotine and nicotine substitute solutions in vaping products will be included in the tax net with a flat excise duty rate of R2.90/ml.
Manufacturers were required to obtain licences for their vaping tobacco products with the South African Revenue Service (Sars) before June 1 and will have to submit their first excise duty account by July 28. Special storage warehouses for such products should be licensed with Sars.
The Vapour Products Association of South Africa (Vpasa) said the new tax would mean the loss of 2,250 vaping-related jobs in manufacturing, wholesale and retail. The broader sector was valued at R1.5bn in 2022.
According to Vpasa, the industry created more than 4,000 jobs by 2017, a figure it projects could rise to 14,000 by 2027.
A new study by the University of Pretoria found that advertising, curiosity and social influence are the reasons young South Africans start vaping, with many confessing to having poor diets containing no fruit and vegetables.
According to the head of the school of health systems and public health at the university, Prof Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, buyers of e-cigarettes at retail shops or mall kiosks said they were attracted to vaping by advertising as opposed to being motivated to quit cigarette smoking.
Conducted in collaboration with the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research, researchers found only 27.5% vaped in an attempt to quit smoking.
Ayo-Yusuf said the findings, released before World No Tobacco Day on Wednesday, were contrary to statements often made by the industry suggesting many people vaped as a means to quit smoking.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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