National Women’s Day: Women’s Health in South Africa and The Role of Women in Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocacy

On 9th August, South Africa celebrates its annual National Women’s Day. This day is surrounded by the nation’s National Women’s Month, which follows the 2024 theme of ‘Celebrating 30 Years of Democracy towards Women’s Development.’

Emerging from a long and ongoing struggle for women’s rights, it is often only in recent decades that policymakers have understood how pervasive a gender imbalance or gender discrimination is in almost all elements of social, cultural and public health issues – including tobacco control and tobacco harm reduction (THR). 

Women and Smoking in South Africa: A Public Health Issue

The percentage of female smokers in South Africa was higher than any of the three other countries mentioned in the report: Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan. Moreover, the second and third most common causes of death highlighted in the report, ischemic heart disease and stroke, are both related to tobacco. The IHME also found that tobacco ranks 8th in the list of top 10 risk factors that drive the most death and disability combined. This is the same rank that it held in 2011.

Despite these startling statistics, the report found that, by integrating and promoting harm reduction policies and strategies, South Africa can save 320,000 lives. Therefore, the implementation of THR measures, such as the promotion of safer alternatives like nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes, can offer a lifeline to South African women. However, the challenge lies in understanding that women, particularly those in vulnerable communities, are often impacted disproportionately in their access to information about alternatives, their physical and financial ability to buy THR products and their social barriers to switching. If these gender-specific concerns are not addressed, THR efforts may fail to reach some of those who need it the most.

Women and THR in South Africa: A Growing Success

One way to help ensure effective and equitable THR policies is to include diverse perspectives and voices through women from different backgrounds and communities at every level of policy-making, advocacy and information campaigns. An example of one such voice is Asanda Gcoyi, the CEO and Executive Director of the Vapour Products Association of South Africa. In a previous article that we’ve shared highlighting her work, Asanda emphasises that “a sensible approach to tobacco harm reduction is literally a life-or-death matter.” She serves as one example of many, and hopefully soon to be even more, women in THR who are advocating for better health outcomes and greater gender equity in healthcare – even just by bringing their perspective and promoting access to alternative routes aside from cessation.

By shifting the focus from cessation to harm reduction, these strategies offer a more realistic and compassionate approach to helping women reduce their smoking-related health risks. When acknowledging this, THR becomes the most evident and essential choice of action for governments worldwide – including South Africa. In supporting THR and empowering the women advocating for and implementing its strategies, South Africa can take significant strides towards reducing smoking rates among women nationwide and improving their overall health outcomes.