South Africa looks set to further tighten it's already strong anti-tobacco laws. Legislation is currently going through South Africa's approval process which will see control tightened in a number of areas including

• Banning smoke in childcare facilities and private cars with children under 12 years
• Banning smoking at the entrances to public buildings and sports stadiums
• Increase fines to up to R50,000 ($7,000) for contravening the law.

  A second set of laws is also being prepared to introduce graphic warnings on cigarette packets and ban the sale of fewer than 20 cigarettes at a time. In proposing the legislation, Deputy Health Minister Nozizwe Madiala-Routledge noted that "Tobacco consumption has a major negative impact on health, including the depletion of scarce resources available to improve the health of our people. According to the Medical Research Council, the cost of maintaining the tobacco survivors in terms of health care costs and disability grants is about R2 billion a year,"

  In October 2000 South Africa was the first country in the world to introduce a ban on smoking in public places.