( 3 minutes read)
· The High Court in Pretoria has rejected an application by the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association for leave to appeal a ruling
· The court upheld the ban on the sale of cigarettes during the current Covid-19 lockdown. A full bench of the court dismissed the application with costs, stating that the organization failed to show that the appeal bears reasonable prospects of success.
· The association is in the process of preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The High Court in Pretoria has rejected an application by the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association for leave to appeal a ruling. The court upheld the ban on the sale of cigarettes during the current Covid-19 lockdown. A full bench of the court dismissed the application with costs, stating that the organization failed to show that the appeal bears reasonable prospects of success.
The sale of cigarettes has been banned since the start of the lockdown in late March, with the government justifying the ban as necessary for health reasons amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has already killed some 6 000 people. The association is in the process of preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The ongoing cigarette ban has resulted in prices continuing to spike in the black market. A separate legal battle between the government and British American Tobacco SA is expected to be heard in August.
