The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is urging cigarette dealers to refrain from importing tobacco products that fail to meet the criteria of the National Standard.
The GNBS in a release yesterday disclosed that it had recently seized 542 packs of cigarettes. These cigarettes, it said, did not meet the requirements of the National Standard “GYS 9-3:2014 Labelling of Tobacco Products” and the Tobacco Control Regulation of 2018.
According to the release, the items were seized from a number of outlets in regions Three, Four, Five and Six, following surveillance inspections. During surveillance visits to shops and supermarkets, GNBS stated that its inspectors found several brands of cigarettes, which were not labelled in English, while other packages did not include a pictorial warning as specified by the Tobacco Control Regulation. The Regulation specifies that pictorial warnings should be placed on each packet and must cover 60 per cent of the top front and back of the packets.
In addition, the inspectors found that some packets did not include a declaration relating to the constituents and emission information, name and address of the manufacturer, importer or distributor, the date of manufacture, or batch number. Further, some brands were not approved for sale in Guyana. The cigarette brands seized include: Atlanta, Milano, SPEED, Marshal, Bulls and Bears, Aurora, Record, Silver Elephant, 51, Royal, Darkis, Indosu, and Nashville.
GNBS informed that its inspectors conduct regular surveillance to ensure that tobacco products which do not conform to the stated requirements, are not sold to local consumers. Such items, it pointed out, are seized and destroyed. Earlier this year, the Bureau destroyed 290,000 packs of imported cigarettes found at Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequi-bo). The cigarettes, which were branded “US Mild 1” and imported from Brazil by a local business, were destroyed at the Lethem dumpsite in the presence of the GNBS inspector stationed in the Region. Also, in 2020, inspectors seized 664 packets of cigarettes, which were also destroyed.
The Bureau is reminding importers and dealers that in order to avoid seizure of their items, they must ensure that their products adhere to the requirements of the standard and regulation. It also cautions retailers against purchasing cigarettes which do not contain warnings and other required information on the individual packages.
GNBS noted that it intends to continue surveillance exercises across the country to remove substandard products from retail outlets. Other products monitored by the GNBS include electrical and electronic appliances, weighing and measuring devices, textiles, garments, footwear, safety helmets, safety matches, tyres, gas stoves, cigarettes, PVC pipe, furniture, toys and playthings, Christmas trees and decorative lighting, cellular phones, gold articles, and electrical equipment and fittings, the release added.
