| – no reason to justify why the legislation hasn’t been tabled in ParliamentThe Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Regional Advisor on Tobacco Control, Dr. Adrianna Blanco, says there is no reason to justify why the long-delayed tobacco control legislation has not been tabled in Parliament.Blanco stated that the passing of the legislation should be top priority for Guyana. She explained that although tobacco use and exposure to second hand smoke are totally preventable, tobacco is killing over six million people per year.“I think for any country in the Caribbean it should be a priority,Discount Football Jerseys, specifically where the country does not have a high prevalence…for example Guyana.“You shouldn’t wait until your country has 30% prevalence to do something,” she said. There are many proven preventive measures that can help curb the swelling epidemic, and it could all be administered with little to no cost for the government.“So it’s really a win-win situation: where the health of your people is protected and the fact that it doesn’t take money from the health system. Personally, I don’t see why they shouldn’t approve the legislation in your parliament,” she stated.Each year, tobacco kills six million people: 5.4 million active smokers and 600,000 non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke. It is the single legal consumer product that kills up to half of its users when used exactly as intended by the manufacturer and costing the global economy an estimated US$200 billion each year.A PAHO/WHO report indicated 71% of men consume tobacco while only 3.6% women are users in Guyana. This is a typical profile of tobacco consumption since men usually consume more than women at the beginning.Blanco added that the Caribbean countries are becoming more like European countries,2018 Nike Air Max 90 Essential, in that the level of intake is almost similar. “This is something that if you don’t take care of it, it will get worst,” she opined.Currently, 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. This was revealed in the Guyana Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) for 2010. It stated that 11.4 % of Guyanese youths, who were non-smokers, were likely to initiate smoking by the next year.Blanco also stated that banning children from buying cigarettes send a counter-message about tobacco consumption. “It’s saying that it’s okay for adults but wrong for children so gives the impression that they should wait until they are legal to buy,” she explained.“It is not very good. So even though you need to put a limit for the age of buying cigarettes one should remember that it is still a part of a comprehensive approach and there are many measures that can be used,” she added, noting that Guyana’s tobacco bill is very comprehensive.“The bill that you have in Guyana in a very good one; if it is passed as it is it will be one of the most advanced legislation in the region,” she posited.The Tobacco Control Bill fulfils requirements laid out in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which Guyana consented 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.Tobacco advertisement is also another issue that Blanco said the government needs to clamp down on. “The tobacco industry doesn’t sell cigarette; it sells happiness, having friends and you looking cool… That’s why you see so many teens smoking,” she explained. The legislation would ensure that there are strict regulations concerning the advertisement of tobacco.She said that the government needs to increase taxes on tobacco. 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 from lung cancer and other diseases, this century.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.At present, cigarettes are so easily accessible they are sold singly—the price going as low as $40.“There is a need to increase taxes on tobacco. It makes tobacco more expensive and less accessible for children while providing revenue for the country,” she indicated, highlighting that only one country has reached the level of tax increase that is recommended by WHO,Nike Vapor Max Plus, which is that the taxes represent 75% of the retail price of the cigarette.When questioned about what could be causing the government to drag its feet on passing the piece of legislation, Blanco posited that it was the interference of the tobacco industry. “The tobacco industry is very powerful and rich,” she said, adding that government may also be tied up with other issues, and so the legislation may be pushed on the back burner.Nevertheless,Air Max 90 Black And White Womens, she argued that the Demerara Tobacco Company (DEMTOCO) is very active in Guyana— building mangroves and providing money for scholarships. “… And all that puts them in collaboration with the government. So if the government on one hand is receiving money from a company and then wants to ban the very product that company is selling,Epic React Flyknit Womens, then there will be a conflict of interest,” she explained further.Blanco added that the tobacco industry is also skilled at inflating the number of Guyanese employed in the industry, so as to try to stop the government from banning cigarette smoking.“There isn’t really a reason why the legislation should take so long to be passed,” she stated.Public Health Minister, George Norton, who had previously stated that the long-awaited Bill would be placed on the order paper in July, told Kaieteur News that the Bill should be placed on the order paper early next year.“In fact it should have been one of the first items up but we never got the chance to,” he asserted, adding that the passing of the Bill affects everyone,Adidas Nmd r1 Pink, including the law makers.He said that he had the support of the government and was looking forward to the tabling of the bill. |
