In a press release timed to World Vape Day 2026, the World Vapers’ Alliance argued that South African lawmakers are moving in the wrong direction on nicotine policy by aligning with calls for tighter restrictions on vapes and nicotine pouches. The release noted that the WHO marks World No Tobacco Day on May 31 with such calls and contrasted that stance with this year’s World Vape Day theme, “One Switch—Everyone Wins.”
The Alliance built much of its case around secondhand effects, contending that when a smoker switches to alternatives, the benefits extend beyond the individual. It cited risks to children from secondhand smoke, including asthma, pneumonia, and bronchitis, along with maternal smoking outcomes such as low birth weight, preterm birth, and stillbirth and noted that children of smokers are more likely to become smokers themselves. Liza Katsiashvili, the group’s director of operations, argued that restricting or banning less harmful alternatives leaves families exposed to smoke rather than protecting them.
The release challenged South African Health Minister Motsoaledi’s characterization of harm reduction as a flawed premise, pointing to Sweden’s near smoke-free status, the UK’s halved smoking rate, and New Zealand’s reduction of smoking among under-25s to around 3 percent as examples of countries that actively promoted alternatives. Katsiashvili also raised South Africa’s illicit trade problem, arguing that pushing consumers away from regulated alternatives hands the market to cigarettes and unregulated black-market products.
