The prohibition of the sales of cigarettes and alcohol during the lockdown
Successes and Failures:
a) Successes:
The ban or prohibition helped to curb the spread of coronavirus.
It eased pressure on health services, which would have increased with nicotine and alcohol-induced health problems.
It forced the people to lead healthier lifestyles.
It reduced some types of crime, especially sexual assault, property arson, and violence.
b) Failures:
It negatively impacted economic activities of certain businesses.
It promoted recourse to illegal sales and consumption of illegal nicotine and alcohol.
It created black markets for these banned goods, thereby exacerbating public health concerns.
Explanation:
South Africa has witnessed some successes as well as failures in her efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus by banning the sales of cigarettes and alcohol in late March and July, 2020. As South Africa has remained at the epicenter of the virus in Africa, recording about 13,000 deaths, the highest in Africa, the government of Cyril Ramaphosa decided to prohibit sales of these products. The ban on the sales of these products have now been lifted following the gradual easing of the lockdown in the country.
