EVERY year on 31st May, “World No Tobacco Day” is commemorated world-wide under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO). In Guyana, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) conducts all “No Tobacco Day” activities.
“No Tobacco Day” is a continual global campaign to educate the public as to the dangers of tobacco usage and to advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption including passing new Legislation or strengthening extant Legislation.

The Guyana Consumers Association (GCA) for many years has been one of the strongest advocates for stringent tobacco control and worked with Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, former Minister of Health and a very enthusiastic and able advocate of tobacco control. It was under Dr. Ramsammy’s watch as Minister of Health that the first National Tobacco Control Bill was drafted in 2012.
Unfortunately, for the last four years, the Bill was under review by various agencies. It is at last now brought to Parliament and will hopefully become Law before year-end.

Tobacco usage is not only responsible for the death of over seven million people per year but responsible for the serious impairment of health of many millions more. It is a major cause and exacerbation of diseases such as asthma, lung cancer and cancers of the mouth, of coronary disease, blood pressure, diabetes, some kidney diseases and also negatively affects the reproductive system. It also results in tooth decay and other dental problems. Tobacco use by pregnant women could also have very negative effects on new-born babies. The main reason why tobacco use causes so many serious diseases and ailments is that the tobacco leaf contains many harmful poisons.

Tobacco use is a threat to National Development. It increases health care costs It puts greater pressure on the hospitals and health centres by having to care for sufferers from tobacco diseases and to expend foreign exchange on the purchase of drugs to treat them.
It decreases production and productivity of the national work-force by absenteeism and by workers being slower and less able to perform with maximum efficiency. It exacerbates poverty as the poor are the main users of tobacco and this drives them to spend less on food, education and health care.

“Second hand smoking” could also cause disease and death to non-smokers who inhale tobacco smoke in such places as public transport, waiting rooms, bars, and fast food restaurants. The new Legislation addresses this problem and seems to confine smoking to the confines of the home.
Many smokers would desire to end their smoking addiction and try on their own but with only mild success. Greater success could be achieved if there was organized help offered by the Public Health authorities and though the Legislation does not require it, the Ministry of Public Health should begin to provide it.

All over the world the Tobacco Lobby always try to delay Tobacco Control legislation or to influence such legislation in their favour or even to circumvent it. When the Tobacco Control Bill becomes Law, the Ministry of Public Health, the Consumer and Competition Commission and the Consumer bodies must ensure that the Law is fully enforced.
An important segment of the Legislation would be concerned with marketing, advertising and packaging of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Advertising material should be absolutely truthful and there should be no deceit as for example promoting one type or brand of tobacco product as being healthier or better than another when all tobacco products are equally dangerous to health.

The GCA has always been advocating the adoption of the general Caribbean standard- CROSQUE’s model of packaging of cigarettes and tobacco products. In that model, the health warnings are prominently displayed and illustrated with graphic pictures of various diseased conditions caused by tobacco and at least 60% of the box or container’s face is devoted to such warnings.

Smuggled cigarettes and tobacco products would now easily be identified since their packaging would not resemble the packaging under the new Legislation. The Customs Department could eliminate smuggling and the legal producers who have been bitterly complaining of smuggling and unfair competition would be happy.
The consumer community would feel much relief and even elation that the National Tobacco Control Act would have come into being..