A second study done at the University of Cape Town has found that the price of bootleg cigarettes has soared further still to 250% of the regular price.
Its also found that the ongoing ban has proven to be a bonanza for the black market, with a negligible public health benefit.
The researchers argue that the extension of the ban beyond level 5, or the country's "hard lockdown", had been misguided and that it should be lifted immediately.
The authors found that as a mechanism to bring smokers to quit, the ban had outlived its limited use, with 70% of those who gave up having done so before May 2; in other words, during lockdown level 5. About nine percent of respondents had managed to quit during the ban.
That smokers were prepared to pay up to R300 for a pack of 20 on the black market should also point National Treasury in the direction of higher tobacco taxes – the study found.
