Proposed tobacco control legislation will see a ban on smoking in public places while cigarette advertising will no longer be allowed and pictorial and text health warnings will have to be displayed on at least 75% of the packaging on tobacco products.
The long-awaited legislation, a copy of which has been obtained by Stabroek News, also seeks to ban smoking at all indoor workplaces, public transport and strictly regulates the sale of cigarettes while creating reporting requirements for manufacturers, wholesale distributors or importers. Penalties for various offences range as high as $16 million and a period of imprisonment.
The legislation has been long in the making and Cabinet last November gave its approval for a tobacco control bill to be submitted to the National Assembly. It is not clear when the Tobacco Control Bill 2016 will be laid in the House. It also covers e-cigarettes which it describes as electronic nicotine delivery systems.
According to the bill’s explanatory memorandum, the purpose of the legislation is to fight the tobacco epidemic by implementing the evidence-based requirements of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which Guyana acceded to on 15 September 2005.
Clause 4 of the Bill seeks to establish a National Tobacco Control Council to advise the Minister of Public Health on matters related to tobacco control. Clause 13 sets out the enforcement powers of authorised officers, who are authorised to conduct inspections, investigations or enforcement activities under the Act. Among other things, authorised officers can enter any public place, workplace, or means of public transportation to conduct any inspection or investigation at any time during business or operating hours or any other reasonable or necessary time. They also have the power to seize and detain or order the storage of any tobacco product that they reasonably believe does not comply with the Act.
Clause 14 seeks to place a duty on persons in charge of premises to co-operate with authorised officers. A person who denies, obstructs or hinders an authorised officer from carrying out his/her duties under the Act can be fined $200 000 and jailed for six months.
Clause 15 seeks to ban smoking in all indoor public places, indoor workplaces, public transport – whether or not it is carrying a member of the public, and in certain specified outdoor places, in order to protect the public from exposure to second-hand smoke. The bill also bans smoking in or on any means of transport at the time transporting a minor.
Persons would also be prohibited from smoking in any area within five metres from a window or doorway to any indoor public place or workplace; anywhere on the premises of and within five metres from the boundaries of any health care, educational and child care facilities; and in any waiting area or queue, including but not limited to public transport stops, bus stands and bus parks.
Playgrounds
Smoking would also not be allowed at parks, playgrounds and amusement parks; a stadium, arena, or any kind of sports or performance space; any designated site of historic or national significance; a space for the service or consumption of food or drink; and any other outdoor space specified in regulations.
Any person who smokes in any place where smoking is prohibited commits an offence and on conviction, can be fined $15 000 for the first offence and $30 000 for any subsequent offence.
Clause 16 seeks to set out the duties of the person responsible for public transport or place where smoking is prohibited to enforce the ban on smoking in public places. A person can be fined $400 000 and jailed for six months if he/she contravenes the provisions of this section.
Clause 18 recognises that tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) is the driver of the tobacco epidemic, and seeks to impose a complete ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
The bill says that no person shall initiate any tobacco advertising, promotion, or sponsorship; produce or place any tobacco advertising, promotion, or sponsorship content; or display any tobacco advertising, promotion or sponsorship content including tobacco product display at retail points of sale. Further, it proposes that no person shall disseminate, when the person is aware of or is in a reasonable position to become aware of, any tobacco advertising, promotion or sponsorship content or engage or participate in any tobacco advertising, promotion or sponsorship as a media or event organiser, celebrity or other participant, or as a recipient of any sponsorship contribution or intermediary that facilitates any such contribution.
The bill states that where any person who has control over the dissemination of communications content becomes or reasonably should be aware of any prohibited content, that person shall remove or disable access to the content. This specific section would apply to all domestic and cross-border tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship including that engaged in by a national of Guyana in another territory, whether or not it is imported back into Guyana.
Any person who contravenes this section commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $9 million and imprisonment for 12 months. Further, any recipient of a prohibited sponsorship contribution or intermediary that facilitates any such contribution can be fined $100 000 and the sum contributed would be forfeited.
Compliance
Clause 19 seeks to monitor compliance with the ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship by placing a duty on the tobacco industry to report tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship activity. The bill says that for the purpose of compliance monitoring under this part, manufacturers, wholesale distributors and importers shall provide to the minister in the time and manner prescribed by regulations, a report on any tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship or advertising, promotion and sponsorship of electronic nicotine delivery systems undertaken during the reporting period.
Those who refuse to submit a report can be fined $2 million and jailed for six months upon conviction.
Clause 21 seeks to declare the rights of all consumers to be fully informed of the risks of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke, by requiring that 75% of tobacco product packaging and labelling display prescribed pictorial and text health warnings. The minister is authorised to provide to the tobacco industry, electronic samples of the health warnings and any other information required for the packaging and labelling of any tobacco product or electronic nicotine delivery systems, and these shall be reproduced by electronic imaging derived from the original images used for the samples and displayed on packaging and labeling with the same quality and clarity.
Six months
The bill states that after six months from the date of entry into force of the legislation, no person shall be allowed to manufacture, import, distribute, sell or offer for sale any tobacco product or electronic nicotine delivery systems that is not packaged and labelled in a manner that complies with the requirements of the law. Additionally, it envisages that the minister, for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the Act, require tobacco manufacturers, wholesale distributors and importers to submit samples of all packaging and labelling.
The bill states that any person or in the case of a body corporate, any of its directors, managers or employees who contravenes any provision under this section commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $400 000 and imprisonment for 6 months, and in the case of a body corporate, a fine of $16 million.
Clause 27 seeks to ban the sale of tobacco products to minors while Clause 28 seeks to ban the employment of minors to handle or sell tobacco products. Clauses 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 seek to limit the access by minors to tobacco products by, among other things, ensuring the sale of tobacco products only takes place in circumstances where the age of the purchaser can be verified, and banning the sale of toy tobacco products.
Clause 34 seeks to prohibit the sale of tobacco products in certain places, for example, health-care and educational facilities.
Clause 38 seeks to empower the Minister to make regulations for the testing and reporting of the contents and emissions of any tobacco product or electronic nicotine delivery system.
Clause 39 seeks to regulate interaction between Government and the tobacco industry so as to protect public health policies from the commercial interests of the tobacco industry.
Clause 40 seeks to prohibit direct and indirect financial or resource contributions from the tobacco industry to Government bodies and officials. Clause 41 seeks to require that the tobacco industry submit reports to the Minister of Public Health containing information about tobacco product revenues and profits, and gifts and contributions to Government bodies and officials. Clause 45 seeks to prescribe penalties to be imposed in addition to, where required, those already specified for the offence, or where no specific penalty has been stated for an offence under the Act. Clause 46 seeks to empower the Minister of Public Health to make regulations as necessary for the effective implementation of this Act.
The bill also mandates that government shall require any person applying for, or under consideration for employment, contract, or voluntary work, to disclose any tobacco related conflict of interest. It says that no government entity shall hire or engage any person to work or serve in any capacity with responsibility for tobacco control where that person currently has or had a conflict of interest during the five-year period prior to the date of application for employment or work.
