ArticleTobacco control2022
The temporary ban on tobacco sales in South Africa: lessons for endgame strategies.
Article in Tobacco control, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Smoking Consumption: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Exploring a Road Map to Achieving Tobacco Endgame in sub-Saharan Africa: A Qualitative Study Among Stakeholders From 12 Countries.Global health, science and practice · 2026Article
- Support for banning sale of smoked tobacco products among adults who smoke: findings from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Surveys (2018-2022).Tobacco control · 2025Article
- Global policy scan of commercial combustible tobacco product retailing regulations by WHO region.Tobacco control · 2025Article
- Changes in tobacco use in rural South Africa during the 2020 tobacco sales ban: an analysis of current and previous behaviours using cross-sectional data.Tobacco control · 2025Article
- Impact of regulatory tightening of the Hungarian tobacco retail market on availability, access and cigarette smoking prevalence of adolescents.Tobacco control · 2025Article
- Guidance for Introducing the Tobacco-Free Generation Policy.The International journal of health planning and management · 2025Article
- Global, regional, and national burdens of MDR-TB attributable to smoking from 1990 to 2021 with a prediction from 2022 to 2050.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Article
- A Media Analysis of the COVID-19 Tobacco Sales Ban in South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- E-cigarette Price Impacts legal and Black-Market Cigarette Purchasing Under a Hypothetical Reduced-Nicotine Cigarette Standard.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023Article
- When Cigarette Sales Suddenly Become Illegal: Evidence From an Online Survey of South African Smokers During COVID-19 Lockdown.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023Article
- Quitting behavior during the tobacco sales ban in South Africa: Results from a broadly nationally representative survey.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- Risk perceptions and changes in tobacco use in relation to Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic: A qualitative study on adolescent tobacco users in Hong Kong.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- Smoking cessation among people with mental illness: A South African perspective.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2022Article
- Tobacco smoking changes during the first pre-vaccination phases of the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2022Article
- Retail endgame strategies: reduce tobacco availability and visibility and promote health equity.Tobacco control · 2022Article
- Drawing on Adolescent Psychology to Achieve Tobacco-Free Generations.Public health reviews · 2022Article
- "Are they trying to control us people?": News media coverage of COVID-19 lockdown tobacco sales ban in South Africa.PloS one · 2022Article
- Addressing the Needs of People with Schizophrenia in South Africa During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Schizophrenia bulletin open · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe endgame literature recommends that, for a tobacco sales ban to be successful, several demand-side preconditions (eg, low prevalence and effective cessation support) should be in place. The South African Government imposed a ban on the sale of all tobacco and vaping products between 27 March and 17 August 2020, as part of the COVID-19 lockdown.
objectivesTo assess how cigarette smokers responded to the sales ban, to evaluate how the ban impacted the cigarette market in South Africa and to use the South African experience to inform endgame planning.
methodsRegular preban cigarette smokers completed an online questionnaire from 4 to 19 June 2020 (n=23 631), in which they reported on their prelockdown cigarette smoking patterns, quitting behaviour (if relevant) and smoking behaviour during the ban.
resultsAbout 9% of prelockdown smokers in the sample successfully quit smoking. 93% of continuing smokers purchased cigarettes despite the sales ban. The average price of cigarettes increased by 250% relative to prelockdown prices. Most respondents purchased cigarettes through informal channels.
conclusionsThe demand-side preconditions for an effective sales ban were not in place in South Africa, making a sales ban inappropriate. The South African experience suggests that supply-side factors are also important in ensuring the success of a sales ban. These are: (1) the illicit market must be under control before implementing a sales ban; and (2) an effective sales ban needs to be synchronised with a ban on the manufacture, transport and distribution of cigarettes.
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