Stop the smokers

Out of five local restaurants Grocott’s Mail visited, only one restaurant has implemented the new Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill (TPCA) smoking regulation that has recently been passed.

In 1999 the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act was passed which caused smokers to be moved into semi-seclusion in restaurants and offices. But the new bill proposed by the National Council Against Smokers (NCAS) stipulates much heftier fines, which are believed to serve as a more effective deterrent to potential law breakers.

Magobiana Senzile, the manager of Nandos in High Street said that they have not implemented the law yet because of space restrictions and that if the owner of their building does not allow them to expand then they will not be able to implement the new law at all. Douglas Green, the mananger of Spur said that they also have not implemented the law yet but the whole restaurant is a non-smoking area. According to Green the outcome has been quite positive. "Customers comply, if they don’t want to, they leave," he says.

Des Westcott, the manager of Wimpy says that they are the only restaurant in Grahamstown that have implemented the new laws from the start. Wimpy has a seperate smoking area and don’t allow school learners inside the booth. The restaurant has been checked by the municipality and the department of Health. Westcott says, "It’s very important to educate staff members and customers about the regulations."

According to the new law a smoker lighting up in a non-smoking zone will be fined up to R500. The maximum fine for owners of public venues who don’t follow the law – and that includes posting clear signs indicating smoking areas- goes up to R50 000. Employers that do not follow the law can be fined R100 000.

The TPCA is an amendment of section 1 of Act 83 of 1993, as amended by section 2 of Act 12 of 1999 and section 1 of Act 23 of 2007.