Nicotine rebrands as glam to hook SA women
· Citizen
South Africa is confronting a structural public health threat: the deliberate normalisation of nicotine addiction – across media, culture and everyday life – not because of a shift in health values, but because of a calculated strategy by the tobacco and nicotine industry.
Once a society where smoking faced strong social disapproval, South Africa now stands apart in sub-Saharan Africa.
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While countries such as Senegal and Rwanda show that 89% of their populations consider tobacco use socially unacceptable, our own research shows that 65% of South African women surveyed had experimented with tobacco or nicotine products and only 35% now regard smoking as socially unacceptable.
This reversal is the outcome of a systematic industry playbook. Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable death in South Africa. According to the Tobacco Atlas, tobacco is responsible for an estimated 42 612 deaths annually – roughly 7.45% of all deaths in the country.
These deaths span heart disease, chronic respiratory illness, and cancers directly linked to smoking.
The Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2021 national prevalence data further illuminate the challenge. Around 23.3% of adults aged 15 and older are current smokers, including 39.3% of men and 8.5% of women – translating to an estimated 10.9 million adult smokers nationwide.
Despite declines among some demographic groups in past decades, smoking remains a major contributor to chronic conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and tuberculosis complications – conditions responsible for premature mortality and morbidity.
At the heart of the tobacco industry’s playbook is identity repositioning. Rather than relying on overt advertising, companies now embed nicotine products into aspirational lifestyles, co-opting feminist language to present smoking as a symbol of autonomy and modernity rather than a driver of addiction and disease.
In South Africa, 30% of women report seeing influencers promote tobacco or nicotine products online, the highest rate across a five-country Africa study.
High levels of entertainment and digital media exposure compound this effect: 84% of respondents report seeing tobacco use in television, film and streaming content.
When tobacco and nicotine companies sponsor public figures to promote products like heated tobacco systems as “healthier alternatives”, they are not merely advertising, they are weaving nicotine into everyday culture and aspiration.
Tobacco companies have shifted from traditional cigarettes to flavoured and discreet devices engineered to evade social stigma and regulatory control. Flavours such as strawberry, mint and vanilla mask the harshness of tobacco, while sleek packaging that mimics cosmetics transforms addictive products into symbols of lifestyle aesthetics.
These products are structurally embedded in women’s environments: nearly half of all vape shops are within 5km of educational institutions and nicotine products appear at 50% of points of sale and 55% of social gatherings, making nicotine products ubiquitous for young women.
South Africa’s regulatory framework has not kept pace with the evolving tactics used by industry. While the country bans direct tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (Taps), loopholes persist.
Point-of-sale displays and corporate social responsibility activities remain permissible, and Taps restrictions do not extend to international satellite or streaming platforms, allowing tobacco imagery to flood screens unchecked.
Emerging nicotine products – e-cigarettes, vapes, and heated tobacco – often fall outside existing legal definitions. Without clear statutory coverage and enforcement capacity, companies exploit regulatory gaps to market products as lifestyle choices rather than addictive hazards.
South Africa cannot remain reactive while nicotine dependence is re-engineered for a new generation.
Reversing this trend requires gender-responsive tobacco control policy that includes:
- A ban on flavoured products and packaging designed to appeal to women and girls;
- Extension of Taps protections to include influencers and digital/streaming content;
- Inclusion of all novel nicotine products within comprehensive tobacco regulation; and
- Stronger enforcement mechanisms with meaningful penalties.
The tobacco industry’s expansion into the cultural mainstream is no accident. It is a calculated strategy to harvest profit from regulatory lag and cultural ambiguity.
South Africa must act now to strengthen regulation, close loopholes and protect women and young people from the preventable harms of nicotine addiction.