As the National Assembly prepares to recess on 5 December 2025 for constituency work and the festive season, the fate of the Tobacco Products & Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill remains unresolved. With no further Health Committee meetings scheduled for the remainder of the year, the controversial legislation faces yet another delay.
Two critical committee meetings in November 2025 were either postponed or cancelled at short notice. A session on 11 November, during which the Department of Health was expected to respond to public input, did not take place. A subsequent meeting on 13 November, where members were scheduled to vote on the Bill’s desirability, was also called off, leaving the process in limbo.
The Bill was originally tabled in December 2022 but lapsed when Parliament rose ahead of the May 2024 elections. By that time, the former Health Committee had already conducted public hearings in seven provinces and called for written submissions from stakeholders.
When revived in July 2024 under the Government of National Unity, the Bill quickly attracted scrutiny. Observers raised questions about:
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whether it was procedurally appropriate to complete a public participation process initiated under the previous Parliament, and
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the role of the National Economic Development & Labour Council (NEDLAC) in both pre-tabling consultations and post-tabling engagement (NEDLAC link).
To address these concerns, the newly constituted Health Committee decided to restart the public participation process from scratch. The renewed process has included:
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oral submissions from stakeholders in March 2025
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a comprehensive programme of provincial hearings from May to August 2025
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briefings from key institutions:
A detailed timeline maintained by the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG), illustrates the full scope of the engagement process.
PMG records show that the Department of Health consulted NEDLAC twice before the Bill was first tabled — in October 2021 and July 2022. However, a NEDLAC briefing to the Health Committee in May 2025 confirmed that consultations resumed in November 2024, likely in response to issues raised during the former committee’s provincial hearings. The SA Legal Academy’s July 2024 In the Spotlight report referenced these concerns, though the Bill had not yet been formally tabled at NEDLAC at that stage.
During the committee meeting on 29 October 2025, PMG minutes clarified that the SAPS and SARS briefings were not part of the public participation process. They were convened to address growing concerns about:
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the implications of illicit tobacco trade for revenue collection, and
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whether state institutions have the capacity and resources to enforce stricter tobacco control measures.
Many of the issues raised in these briefings echoed long-standing doubts voiced during the public hearings about the state’s ability to implement and enforce the Bill effectively if enacted.
At the same meeting, the committee received a consolidated summary of all public submissions — including those collected by the former committee as well as the new committee’s March 2025 hearings. To date, the Department of Health has not provided a formal response to this comprehensive body of input, leaving the Bill’s progress stalled.
With Parliament now entering recess, the next steps for the Tobacco Products & Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill will only become clear when MPs return in early 2026. Observers note that the combination of procedural concerns, capacity questions, and ongoing consultations could significantly shape the Bill’s eventual form and its impact on tobacco regulation in South Africa.
