Dodging the cigarette ban: How WhatsApp chats could get you arrested

Day 48 of lockdown. No luxury items, no booze, and indeed, no cigarettes. We’re likely to breach the two-month mark before our guilty pleasures return to the shelves – and that’s barring any last-minute u-turns. But for those of you making illicit plans to dodge the smoking ban, WhatsApp may not be the best venue.

Selling cigarettes over WhatsApp? That’s a criminal offence

That’s the advice of Megan Harrington-Johnson, managing partner at HJW Attorneys. She went live on Jacaranda FM this Tuesday, to warn the public about the dangers of circumventing the current laws.

According to the legal expert, many vendors are now taking their schemes online. Those looking to make a quick buck by selling cigarettes are advertising their stock in WhatsApp group chats, and on Facebook Messenger. According to Harrington Johnson, you don’t have to be an active seller to get yourself implicated.

Group admins ‘could be arrested’ for failing to shut things down

The tech laws of South Africa mean that group admins will also be held liable if cigarettes are purchased via deals negotiated in their group chats. Should police seize the phones of these vendors – and discover where they brokered these sales – you could also be arrested for your role as the chat’s administrator.

“It is currently illegal to trade in, transport, or sell alcohol or cigarettes, yet some tuck-shop and pub owners, and their connections, have formed WhatsApp groups advertising what they have in stock.”

“If you are an admin of a Facebook group or a creator of a WhatsApp chat and you allow this content on your platform, you can be held vicariously liable. If you are an admin of a Facebook group or a creator of a WhatsApp chat and you allow this content on your platform, you can be held vicariously liable.”

Megan Harrington-Johnson, managing partner at HJW Attorneys