As Guyana observes World Tobacco Day…
The Ministry of Health will continue to lead the crusade for higher tobacco taxes as 67 of the 4,000 dangerous chemicals emitted by every lighted cigarette are causative agents of common killer diseases. This was disclosed at the signing of the smoke-free declaration at the University of Guyana, Turkeyen Campus, as part of the observances of World No Tobacco Day, Monday.
More than half of the country’s healthcare expenditure goes towards the treatment of non-communicable illnesses, while smoking is linked to six of the leading killers, including heart disease, hypertension and various cancers.
Dubbing tobacco “the most addictive substance known to man,” Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy stressed the importance of behavioural change in the fight against the scourge.
“Tobacco has never brought good news to the world in terms of human development…This is not a trivial killer, it’s a major scourge, and we freely pay to kill ourselves. However, I believe that humanity will one day stand up united in a ban against tobacco,” Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy said.
The University of Guyana underlined its mandate of not only being an educational institution, but a driver of development in declaring parts of the campus smoke-free zones.
In brief remarks, Deputy Vice Chancellor Tota Mangar said the university, with its more than 5,300 population, is delighted to be associated with the observance of World No Tobacco Day and the signing of the smoke-free declaration.
Mangar said the first World No Tobacco Day was observed to draw global attention to the lethal effects of the substance and advocate for policies to reduce its use.
He noted that the University of Guyana is prepared to play its part in its reduction; and as such, has declared all classrooms, library, Learning Resource Centre, student dorms, cafeteria and administrative buildings smoke-free spaces.
Representative of the Pan American Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), Dr Rosalinda Hernandez, said the agency is committed to a plan that would control the epidemic of tobacco and its harmful effects on women and girls through advertising and the tobacco industry.
Dr Hernandez stated that less than nine percent of the world’s population is covered by no-tobacco laws; and women in the low and middle income brackets continue to die of smoke-related illnesses.
Quoting PAHO/WHO statistics, Dr Hernandez disclosed that 200M of the world’s smokers are women, and teenagers who smoke are more likely to become smokers as adults.
She urged men to become more responsible in shielding women and girls from second-hand smoke, warning that tobacco could kill 80M people by 2040.
The Tain, Berbice Campus is expected to join the tobacco fight by signing the smoke-free declaration sometime next week.
World No Tobacco Day 2010 was  observed under the theme, “Gender and Tobacco with focus on Marketing to Women”.