TAG (Tobacco Alcohol and Gambling Advisory Advocacy and Action Group)

The 31^st of May is WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY 

Read about TAG here:

THE THREE MAJOR LEGAL ADDICTIONS – Our Focus:

Tobacco & Tobacco Products

Tobacco legislation is lagging behind in South Africa. We need health warnings and messages on

standardised plain packaging, including prominent pictures. To this end, we have already drafted

regulations which have been accepted.

We must remove all retail displays and hide tobacco products from public view, specifically because

retail displays provide advertising and marketing opportunities for the tobacco industry; which they

exploit in order to increase their sales and profit, but at the expense of public health.

Electronic cigarettes and their use need to be regulated and controlled in the same way as

conventional cigarettes.

We need to prohibit all indoor smoking; while outdoor smoking must also be restricted to specific

outdoor areas, in order to protect the health of non-smokers. Likewise, we need more rigorous control

over smoking in multi-unit dwellings, in answer to the numerous complaints about smoking in these

buildings.

The international tactics of the tobacco industry, including gifts and bribery, must be exposed and

countered. Such activities have been exposed recently in Africa. There is a need for, and we will assist

government in, tightening controls on illicit trade, smuggling and ‘round tripping’.

The Excise Duty system must be changed and restructured, so that tobacco products become

progressively less affordable to the consumer. The current tax regime has in fact made these products

cheaper and more affordable in recent years. The current system puts control of the level of tax in the

hands of the manufacturers. Product ‘Tracking and Tracing’ (T&T) must be introduced.

We must lobby politicians and officials to counteract the industry activities. The industry appears to

have persuaded officials to delay legislation, and keep excise tariffs low and unchanged; and to have

encouraged the use of an industry-designed T&T system.

The National Quitline and cessation services need to be improved. We can manage that service

effectively on behalf of the Government. Tobacco dependence, cessation and treatment programs

must be expanded. We need to advertise the availability of our free service more widely, introduce

web-based support for smokers, and Internet-based cessation programmes; and use SMS messaging

to support and motivate smokers who have quit and need ongoing encouragement. We must develop

a statistical database. There is no information available in SA as to the efficacy of cessation services.

All our activities in these matters will ensure improved compliance with South Africa’s obligations

under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), using the approved guidelines.

We need to ‘name and shame’ companies, including bars and restaurants, which, in our opinion, do

not comply with the legislation. Those who do fully comply should receive accolades. We should

consider an awards or certification system for compliant businesses.

Programmes and training in smoking cessation in basic healthcare facilities must be improved (they

are virtually non-existent, at present). Cessation services must become an integral part of basic health

care. We must pressure government to take stronger action to protect public health. Government also

needs to be assisted, as they do not have all the knowledge and expertise demanded to manage such

a huge public health risks. We can provide much needed information and research and use our

alliances with local and international organisations. Government should be held accountable.

Alcohol

Alcohol control legislation is long overdue. It is essential to ban advertising and sponsorship, as has

been done with tobacco. We need to reduce individual consumption in order to reduce potential

damage to individual and societal health.

The prevalence of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome in South Africa is among the highest in the world; and

certainly the worst in Africa. About 9 000 of the approximately 15,000 annual deaths on our roads are

alcohol related. A very large portion of South Africa’s Gender Based Violence (GBV) is attributable to

alcohol. Our activities will automatically contribute to reducing road deaths and GBV.

The sale and serving of alcohol must be banned at sporting events and within 1 kilometre of any

school. As with tobacco products, excise duty structures must be changed to ensure that the higher

retail price of alcohol and alcoholic products makes alcohol progressively less affordable. Alco-pops

must be banned. They are aimed at and marketed, subliminally, to the youth.

We must place much more focus on illegal traders, such as unregistered and unlicensed shebeens,

and people who operate and conduct illegal sales, especially in the poorer areas. A single order for a

large quantity of alcohol might be for a party. However, large quantities ordered and delivered to a

private residence every week clearly suggests illegal activities. The traders, the transport companies

that deliver the goods, and importers and manufacturers who supply the transporters are all culpable.

They must all be prosecuted.

The alcohol industry controls the so-called ‘Association for Responsible Alcohol Use’. This is

tantamount to putting the wolf in charge of the hen house. We need to take over this association’s

functions, and make it far more effective and meaningful. Reducing consumption and sales is

obviously diametrically opposed to the industry’s objectives of increasing sales, consumption and

profits, which in turn increases the harm the product causes. An organisation such as TAG, and

people who care about reducing the harm caused by alcohol - and not about profits for shareholders,

should run anti-industry activities.

Binge drinking must be discouraged. Blood alcohol allowed while driving must be zero. Consideration

needs to be given to holding a bar or restaurant where a person got drunk accountable, as is done in

other countries. The periodic ‘blitz’ by authorities in peak holiday season is insufficient. The bad habit

of drinking and driving (and general lawlessness on the roads) must be dealt with constantly,

continuously, and relentlessly, throughout the year.

There have to be treatment programmes that are more widely spread and more easily accessible. We

must lobby and exert pressure on the government. The buck needs to stop with the government, and

we need to function in a supportive role, to help the government and its relevant departments

succeed. Government should be held accountable.

Gambling

Gambling, which the industry euphemistically calls ‘Gaming’, can be a dangerous addiction. It is

gambling. It is risky. It is not a game. Empirical evidence shows that heavy gamblers are more likely to

be heavy smokers and drinkers; and the corollary is equally true: heavy smokers and heavy drinkers

are more likely to gamble. These are all risky behaviours. Some people are more prone to addiction

than others, but all these behaviours are addictive.

Addiction to gambling almost inevitably leads to people and families being ripped apart, and lives

destroyed. The gamblers can suffer huge losses. They can lose their homes and everything they

possess.

We need to separate the gambling areas completely from the entertainment and eating areas. It is

important that children and young people are not exposed to what superficially appears to be fun but

can, in reality, be addictive and destructive. The gambling areas should not be visible to anyone under

18 years.

It is iniquitous that the ‘National Responsible Gambling Programme’ is managed by the gambling

industry. This is again putting the wolf in charge of the henhouse.

An independent organisation such as TAG - Tobacco, Alcohol and Gambling Advisory Advocacy and

Action Group - must manage anti-gambling activities.

We are committed to reducing the harm caused by gambling. We will be more successful than the

industry. The gambling industry has a vested interest in increasing turnover, expanding gambling

activities and increasing profits.

General

We must regularly produce posters, pamphlets, and booklets, and distribute them to all clinics,

hospitals, healthcare facilities, and health practitioners. This campaign should include No Smoking

decals for distribution at all public places.

We need to produce meaningful radio and TV adverts, which have an impact on our communities, to

bring about change. We must ensure that the public knows the truth. This requires a large budget.

Activities should include lobbying parliamentarians, policy makers, political parties, other

organisations and NGOs, and providing them with the facts and figures that simply cannot be ignored.

We need to counter and dispel industry lies and misinformation.

Recognising that legal drugs such as nicotine and alcohol are the gateway to the use of illegal drugs

and other substances, we should apply our energy in that direction as well. In broad terms, our

mandate is to promote health and save lives.

We need to hold regular media briefings to keep our messages in the mind’s eye of the public.

We will form partnerships with other NGOs and community organisations, locally and internationally,

in order to expedite the change that we need so urgently. Capacity building will be a strategic focus.

Prosecuting non-compliant businesses will ensure greater compliance. However, this requires

substantial funding in order to hire the best lawyers and advocates who will pursue private

prosecutions on our behalf when the state fails in its duties. When the industry attacks the State in our

courts, we can enter as amicus curiae, assisting the State with facts and information.

Reducing tobacco and alcohol use is good for the environment, because it will result in less waste and

litter. There will be less packaging, fewer discarded cigarette butts, and fewer bottles (glass and

plastic) and cans polluting the environment. This is not our primary aim, but a natural consequence of

what we do.

We operate at the policy and legislative level and in communities. Our target is at the population level

for the benefit of all people, especially children. Preventing the use of tobacco and alcohol frees

money wasted on these toxic products. Families can use this cash for nutrition, education and the

necessities of life. This protects the underprivileged, disadvantaged and poorest people the most

because they waste a disproportionately high portion of their disposable income and grants on these

products. Eliminating smoking and drinking will also reduce the transmission of HIV. All our

interventions will also reduce public healthcare costs, saving the country millions of Rand. The

benefits of our work are palpable and serve all people and the country. One of our aims is to bring

about behavioural change to ensure long term sustainability of all the results of our efforts and the

accrued benefits.

We will not accept funding or any donations of any kind from the tobacco, alcohol, gambling and

pharmaceutical industries.

Our aim is L I F E

Save Lives. Save Individuals. Save Families. Save the Environment.

We will have to apply our best efforts to raise the funds to meet our goals. This must be

ongoing. We must constantly, and continually, generate funds to make our work possible,

and to ensure success.

Contact information:

+27 (0) 82 454 9889 

P O Box 220 Modderfontein 1645

peter@peterucko.com

TAG - What we Do - Policies and Plans Feb 17.pdf

NPO Certificate TAG.pdf

FNB Account Confirmation TAG Jan 2016.pdf