| “Guyana should always be ready for changes that deal with protecting people’s health,” said Kesaundra Alves, Legal Advisor, Bloomberg Tobacco Control Project.She was speaking at the University of Guyana Berbice Campus,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, recently, on the context of tobacco use and control and a proposed Bill which would be tabled in Parliament.Ms. Kesaundra AlvesShe said that if there is not a healthy nation, you cannot have a wealthy nation, “so you just can’t just say that tobacco is a lucrative business. You need to look at persons’ health at the end of the day, because when they get sick, you lose the labour that person would have provided for many decades; families suffer because they lose the bread winner. There is a lot of cost and burden that we bear as a nation as a result of people using tobacco products and being exposed to second- hand smoke.”Alves said that she knows for sure that when the Bill is tabled in Parliament, there will be opposition from the tobacco companies here, “which will try to dissuade law- makers from actually implementing the legislation” but that would not stop the MoH from pushing ahead with the Bill because that “is our duty as the MoH…and we are eager to protect the health of each and every citizen of Guyana”.The changes, she said, will be accompanied by a lot of public- education so persons are aware of what is coming.The Tobacco Control Legislation is as a result of Guyana becoming a signatory to the Framework Convention to Tobacco Control. There are certain obligations in terms of implementing laws and policies aimed at curbing tobacco use and protecting persons from exposure to second- hand smoke.The Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with Tobacco- Free Kids and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), held a Consultation on Tobacco Control Legislation recently at the University of Guyana, Berbice Campus (UGBC). In attendance were several school children and other community- minded persons and individuals from the Berbice area.Alves said that the national consultations on the Tobacco Control Legislation are seeing widespread support from Guyanese.The main component of the proposed legislation would be to protect persons from exposure to second- hand smoke. “We’re not aiming to ban smoking rather aiming to regulate the way in which it is done so that persons would not be exposed to the health dangers and health effects…”She noted that another thing the Bill intends to do is to regulate tobacco sales in such a way that minors are not exposed to tobacco products and that it would not be easy for them to access those products. “No place can employ a minor if that place is selling tobacco products and no business owner and anyone should sell to a minor”.There would be no more automatic vending machine sales of the products, since there would be no way to tell how old the person is. “You wouldn’t see any children walking around selling cigarettes in trays”.Another key aspect of the legislation would deal with packaging and labeling whereby at least 50 per cent of the tobacco product would have graphic health warnings and not just the message from the Minister of Health.Alves revealed, too, that there would be a graphic image of a person who has lung cancer or oral cancer so that it can deter someone from buying the product.Additionally, tobacco- advertising and sponsorship would be banned, “because tobacco use is an epidemic and the way in which it is spread is not by bacteria. It is spread by promotions, advertising and sponsorship, so if we can wipe out the advertising, then we get to the root and weed it out”.The Bill has not been taken to Cabinet or Parliament; it is in its consultation stages.Under the Bill, there wouldn’t be banning of smoking in vehicles, except where a minor is being transported. She said the legislation, when passed, would also give a voice to workers. “We conducted a study in bars and restaurants and found out that workers in these bars were prone to second hand smoke. We took out the strands of their hairs and tested them and found that the nicotine content was actually in the strands in their hair and these are people who don’t smoke.The waiters, she said, would not have the courage to tell the owner of the hotel or bar that he or she does not want to serve people in the bar or hotel who smoke, “so by empowering people, we give a voice and protect workers’ rights”.The tobacco industry in Guyana, like in other parts of the world, is booming. Ms. Alves stated that it is a very lucrative business in the world, “because once you get people hooked, you get them hooked for life”. |
