A lifelong smoker has penned a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, pleading with him to lift the ban on the sale and distribution of cigarettes
But this smoker argued that the unavailability of cigarettes forced smokers to share cigarettes and compromise their safety.
“Most people now share a cigarette because they are so hard to come by, so how does this make sense, our government,” she said, adding that millions were now searching for illicit cigarettes.“We are human. We have rights, don't we? We know what the risks of smoking are. [It] must be our choice if we want to quit!” she added.
She argued there was no logic in banning cigarettes because consuming food also required touching one's mouth, just like cigarettes. “Eating chips and apples and almost anything must then also be banned because your hand touches your mouth while eating. This ban on cigarettes does not make any sense,” she said.#Smokers Against Lockdown Cigarette Ban – South AfricaThe group was started shortly after the government announced a lift on the cigarette ban only to make a U-turn, saying it was not yet feasible to allow the sale of cigarettes.
Founder of the Facebook group, Bianca Kohn, said the banning of cigarettes was detrimental, with smokers undergoing withdrawal symptoms and suffering depression during this period of isolation.
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