Most restaurant owners support a full ban on smoking in their establishments, according to a recent study.
The Cabinet has approved the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, which provides for a ban on smoking at outdoor public places.
The aim of the legislation is to cut demand by prohibiting point-of-sale advertising by requiring retailers to keep tobacco out of sight. It is also intended to introduce plain packaging, with graphic health warnings. The proposed new measures have created uncertainty in the tobacco industry.
When they were mooted in 2015, British American Tobacco SA is said to have threatened to shut its plant.
The study was done by the University of Cape Town and published in the South African Medical Journal.
It canvassed views in the restaurant industry. Its results show restaurants were voluntarily instituting complete bans on smoking on their premises.
This is despite current regulations reflecting a more lenient stance on smoking.
Megan Little, a researcher in the Economics of Tobacco Control Project, and Prof Corné van Walbeek, director of the project, led the study.
More than 750 restaurant owners across the country were interviewed for the study.
There was significant pushback from the hospitality and tobacco industries about 20 years ago when the idea of a complete ban on smoking in establishments was mooted, but attitudes had softened in recent times, Little said.
"We found that the majority of restaurant owners and managers support the proposed amendment that would ban smoking in restaurants completely," said Little.
According to the study, 45% of restaurants have no smoking areas at all.
There was a distinction in preference on the issue between rural and urban provinces.
Restaurants with inside smoking areas tended to be in small towns and rural provinces. No-smoking restaurants, or restaurants with outside smoking areas, were prevalent in provinces with large urban populations. Regional variances in the study may be indicative of differing consumer lifestyle choices between rural and urban SA.
The study found that 23% of restaurants had changed their smoking policies in the past 10 years, with most relocating smoking sections outside or banning smoking completely. There was little evidence of customer disapproval.
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