Public Health Minister George Norton says the long anticipated Tobacco Control Bill, which will see a ban on smoking in public places and controls on tobacco advertisement, will be placed on the order paper within a matter of weeks once it has gained the approval of experts.
In an interview with the Stabroek News, Norton spoke of specialised smoking areas for smokers and the curbing of smoking in schools. The minster stated that he is prepared to work with the Ministry of Education to fight against the exposure of children to cigarettes and smoking among teenagers.
The Tobacco Control Bill fulfils requirements laid out in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which Guyana ratified in 2005.
The legislation is intended to protect present and future generations from the “devastating harms” of tobacco use, exposure to tobacco smoke and specifically to prevent tobacco use among youths. The legislation would also seek to ensure that the public is protected from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry, while preventing the illicit trade in tobacco products.
“In a question of weeks it might be placed on the order paper… after approval by the experts,” Norton said, although he added that he was more concerned with marijuana smoking. “We have a major problem with that,” he noted.
He stated that statistics show that some crimes are committed by individuals using the drug. He explained that a long time ago, marijuana and cocaine were “something seen in books and movies” but now they are readily available on the streets for youths.
The Guyana Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) for 2010 revealed that more than one in five students use a form of tobacco, with 9.5 % of students smoking cigarettes and 14.8 % using some other form of tobacco. The survey stated that 11.4 %of Guyanese youths, who were non-smokers, were likely to initiate smoking by the next year.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud had stated that most smokers start smoking before the age of 18 and statistics showed that if teens do not start smoking by then, they are more likely to not smoke.
Norton said for too long people have been exposed to secondhand smoke and the ban is much needed, especially to protect children. He stated that the ministry would also look at how tobacco is advertised. “If people want to sell it, they could but they can’t advertise the cigarette pack on the counter or sell it to children,” he said, while noting that he understands that selling cigarettes is a money-making business and provides a livelihood for people with small shops and stalls.
Nonetheless, Norton noted that the legislation would not mean a thing if the government were not prepared to put the law into practice. “It would not work if we are not prepared to apply the penalty. If you do the crime, you have to pay the time. There is no beating around the bush,” Norton stated.
He also said the legislation would not affect Guyana much since it is not known for tobacco production. He said too that while smokers should have designated smoking areas, he would not be too disappointed if there were not any.
A bad habit
Stabroek News asked several men and women on the city streets about their views on a ban on public smoking and most of them were eager to see legislation in place to do away with smoking in public places.
Johnathan Constantine said it would be great to no longer to be forced to inhale secondhand smoke. “I don’t like cigarettes, so it would be great. People that choose not to smoke are forced to inhale the secondhand smoke, which is said to be worse than actually smoking. So, yes! I would support something like that,” he stated.
Another young man stated that smoking has a negative influence on adolescents, especially those who are going through their experimental phase.
One smoker, however, was not too welcoming when asked about a ban on public smoking. “I think that is sh**t because it is not practical. They will have to spend millions putting up signs and the system already bad so the police will have more reasons to collect bribes,” the man said.
Nevertheless, there were smokers who thought that a ban would be beneficial to the majority of the population. “If you’re gonna smoke, smoke in a private place. I would support it even though I smoke because I don’t like smoking in front of people, especially kids. It’s already a bad habit,” one man said, while describing the bill as a bold initiative.
But he would not want the taxes on cigarettes to be increased. “If they increase it, I wouldn’t smoke because it would be too expensive. I think they should increase the tax on alcohol because that kills more people,” he added.
One woman stated that she is severely affected by secondhand smoke since she is asthmatic. “The ban would be a good thing,” she said.
Every year, tobacco kills 6 million people— 5.4 million active smokers and 600,000 non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke. It is the only legal consumer product that kills up to half of its users when used exactly as intended by the manufacturer, costing the global economy an estimated US$200 billion each year.
Charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) researchers have indicated that tripling tobacco tax globally would cut smoking by a third, and avoid 200 million premature deaths this century from lung cancer and other diseases.
The researchers stated that increasing taxes by a large amount per cigarette would motivate people to quit smoking altogether rather than switch to a cheaper brand.
Recently, however, there has been a boom in the distribution of electronic-cigarettes, even as the World Health Organisation (WHO) calls for their strict regulation. WHO stated that one of its major concern is that e-cigarettes may tempt children, since the cigarettes are flavoured. The health organisation has since called for a ban on flavours until there is proof that it does not affect teenagers.
Minister Norton stated that e-cigarettes were considered when the bill was being drafted and would be looked into it.
Last year, Jamaica blocked the importation of e-cigarettes with liquid cartridges or replacement liquid cartridges. The country’s one-year ban on smoking in public places also restricted the use of e-cigarettes.
More recently, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) called on its member countries to endorse the Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, an international agreement which sets out specific measures to fight illicit trade in them.
PAHO stated that globally one in every 10 cigarettes consumed is illegal and noted that the tobacco industry and criminal groups are among those who profit from the illegal trade.
The health organisation stated that the elimination of the illicit tobacco trade would allow governments to gain US$31 billion in revenue, which could be used to improve public health and reduce crime.
“This protocol will be a key policy tool to reduce tobacco consumption by restricting the availability of cheap, unregulated alternatives and increasing prices on tobacco products overall. This will not only save lives but also increase tax revenues that can then be applied to health interventions,” said PAHO Director Carissa F Etienne.
So far, only two countries have ratified the protocol— Nicaragua and Uruguay. PAHO stated that the ability to buy tobacco at cheaper prices only encourages younger tobacco users.
