What is individual freedom and can governments legislate for this? Is the prohibition of cigarettes infringing on the freedoms of not only individual rights, but the rights of legal tobacco traders who make way for illegal smugglers? Outside of the estimated R200 million cost to the tax coffers, what are the societal effects of cutting smokers off from cigarettes with no warning or alternative? Can there be freedom if the government doesn’t engage its citizens and business stakeholders before implementing policy?
