Chairperson of the Presidential Commission on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Dr. Leslie Ramsammy on Wednesday called for the full implementation of the country’s Tobacco Control Act and higher taxes on cigarettes.
The statement noted that six years after the Tobacco Control Act 2017 was enacted, Guyana is yet to fully implement its provisions. The statement in observance of World No Tobacco Day called on the Ministry of Health and other agencies to ensure that there is full implementation of the Act and its provisions.
Dr. Ramsammy, who is also Advisor to the Minister of Health and a former Minister of Health, in his statement highlighted the fact that fifteen years after the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control came into effect, the evidence-based treaty is still not fully being implemented equally around the world.
As he had done last year, Dr Ramsammy noted the proliferation of hookah bars and said that these now present another form of threat to health and well-being.
While some progress has been made with adults, the statement noted that more young people are engaging in smoking. The statement called for harder work to reduce this number which it says is a challenge in many other countries.
“The global response for more regulations to ensure the tobacco companies do not find another way into the lives of people for profit is urgently required,” Dr. Ramsammy said.
He added: “We are spending millions in the fight against suicide, yet we insist on permitting tobacco to kill people. It is senseless. We even are reluctant to raise taxes on this killer.”
He noted: “In our own country, between 2015 and 2020, we introduced new taxes and raised old ones, but we did not increase taxation on tobacco products. The Commission again advocates for an increase in tobacco taxation in Guyana. Tobacco does not affect our health and kills us because of direct use, it affects our health and well-being because it is also an environmental hazard. Six trillion cigarettes are produced every year. The tobacco crops that produce enough leaves for this purpose can support the cultivation of 600 million trees that could serve as a carbon sink. Indeed, tobacco use contributes more than 84 million tons of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) annually.”
In his message, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony pointed out that the World Bank stated that the prevalence of tobacco use among adults in Guyana stood at 12.1 per cent in 2020.
He said that his ministry is doing its part by launching Tobacco Cessation Clinics across the country, the first of which will be at the Industry Health Centre.
At these clinics, healthcare professionals will offer Brief Tobacco Interventions using the 5 As method (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist and Arrange). The service will also at the Festival City, North East La Penitence, East La Penitence, Grove, Craig, Buxton, Enmore, Den Amstel, Kitty and David Rose health centres.
He said that one of the recommendations from the “Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programmes” published by the US Centers for Disease Control in 2014, is for all healthcare systems, clinics, hospitals, dental offices, pharmacies and emergency departments to ask, advise and refer patients to evidence-based tobacco treatment.
“In this way, we have an opportunity to provide treatment or referral to evidence-based tobacco cessation services”, he said.
Dr Anthony added: “I am hopeful that through education and continued public awareness, we can create a tobacco-free generation. I charge you to become champions for health and `Say No To Smoking’. Together, we can curb the tobacco epidemic and reduce incidents of mortality rate caused by this product”.
