South Africa has instituted some of the most progressive tobacco control legislation in the world through promulgation of the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act of 1999, which inter alia banned advertising and promotion of tobacco products. These steps were instituted with the express intention of protecting young people from the harms of tobacco use. It is well known that most adult smokers initiate smoking during the youthful years, and if adolescents do not initiate smoking by 18 years of age they are unlikely to do so as adults.