'The fact that a substance is addictive does not render it essential', three high court judges ruled.
26 June 2020 - 15:26Cigarette sales will remain banned after the government won its court battle against the Fair-Trade Tobacco Association.“The application by Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association is dismissed.”
“Fita’s argument that cigarettes ought to have been considered 'essential' because they are addictive has no merit. The fact that a substance is addictive does not render it essential. We therefore find no basis on which to interpret the level 5 regulations as permitting the sale of tobacco products.”
“Ultimately in this matter, our constitution requires that the regulations, being legislation, be rationally related to a legitimate governmental purpose. If not, they are inconsistent with the rule of law and therefore invalid. It is through this prism that we consider the challenge to the minister’s decision to ban the sale of tobacco products through regulations 27 and 45.
“In our view, the medical material and other reports ... considered by the minister, though still developing and not conclusive regarding a higher Covid-19 virus progression amongst smokers compared to non-smokers, provided the minister with a firm rational basis to promulgate regulations 27 and 45, outlawing the sale of tobacco products and cigarettes,” they say.
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