Buying cigarettes ‘extremely easy’, say students

Many student smokers have resorted to buying cigarettes on the black market since the prohibition on the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products under lockdown regulations.

The ban led to the sale of illegal tobacco products all over South Africa, including university towns like Potchefstroom. Many smokers now resort to paying exorbitant prices to feed their habit.

A traditional shop vendor in Potchefstroom sells lesser known branded cigarettes at R80 per packet. Popular student brands such as Marlboro Beyond Blue and Marlboro Gold (usually ranging from R45 to R55 per pack) can now only be purchased per carton and can cost up to R1 500. A once-off purchase of rolling tobacco, Rizla (rolling paper) and filters can exceed R300. 

Several students said they still manage to buy cigarettes quite easily despite the ban. This seems to indicate that most smokers do still seem to be able to buy cigarettes as press reports indicate, raising questions about the effectiveness of the ban.

A third-year BCom international trade student said, “Getting cigarettes is extremely easy, it can be bought at most spaza shops.” He says that although buying cigarettes is fairly straightforward, it is difficult to find menthol cigarettes. He adds that the most he paid for a packet of cigarettes was R200 – a packet of Marlboro Red Beyond. 

A fourth-year education student said: “I have been buying cigarettes from garages and spaza shops near Potchefstroom’s CBD.” She said that she bought a carton of cigarettes for R900, double the usual price. 

The cigarette ban has led to cigarette theft at shops, as well as some violence against shopkeepers who refuse to sell cigarettes.

IOL wrote about a break-in at a Makro store in Centurion where ten armed men made off with boxes of cigarettes and cellphones. The police spokesperson in the area, Kay Makhubela, said the robbers broke the glass near the area where the cigarettes were usually kept. She added that as the police approached the scene, the suspects started to shoot and fled in their cars. 

The Citizen wrote a shopkeeper from Kalbaskraal in the Western Cape was stabbed to death for refusing to sell cigarettes. Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said that the shopkeepers refused to sell cigarettes and an argument ensued. Naidoo said that the suspect used a knife to stab both victims in the neck. He confirmed that one of the shopkeepers died on the way to the hospital. 

Psychotherapist Rita Meyer from Secunda said that the psychological effects of nicotine are contradictory. It sometimes provides growing alertness while at other times causing a sense of comfort and calmness. “A potential reason is that the effect differs according to the initial condition of the consumer,” she said. She added that nicotine has a soothing effect on anyone who gets upset and heightens alertness for someone who isn’t. 

According to an article on the website Harvard Health,  nicotine is addictive because it triggers a reaction in the brain’s reward system, the structures responsible for providing pleasure sensations like dopamine. According to the article, the drug intensifies the activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine. 

There are marked psychological effects associated with nicotine withdrawal, according to Medical News Today. After an extended period of nicotine use, the sudden absence of nicotine disrupts the chemical balance in the brain. The psychological symptoms of nicotine withdrawal include a strong desire or craving for nicotine, irritability or frustration, low mood, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, and mood swings. 

Much like any smoker, the economy is also exhibiting some withdrawal symptoms. Articles published on Daily Maverick and EWN argue that the South African economy has lost over R1 billion in revenue due to the ban on the sale of tobacco products. 

According to an article on EWN, Sinenhlanhla Mnguni, the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association’s (FITA) chairperson, argued that the ban on the sale of tobacco products is unconstitutional and the decision has been “sudden and ill considered”.

Many South Africans were left scratching their heads when the ban on alcohol was lifted on 1 June, while the ban on the sale of tobacco products continued.