— urges Gov’t to send Tobacco Bill to Special Select Committee

THE Private Sector Commission (PSC) has called on Government to send the Tobacco Control Bill to a Special Select Committee to address civil rights issues it contains.

The Commission in statement said it has noted the ongoing views expressed on the Tobacco Bill and appreciates the international obligations that were signed on to by Guyana, as well as the reasons for the introduction of the bill.

Guyana, it said, has over many years, come a long way in the controlling the practice of smoking in public places and the public as well as various operators of bars, hotels, cinemas, other businesses and smokers themselves should be applauded.

But it noted that it is aware that the Government believes the World Health Organisation’s protocols dictate that Government should not engage in dialogue with the tobacco industry.

“The Private Sector Commission views this as an inconsistency. Ours is an independent jurisdiction called Guyana and most democracies were built on dialogue.

“The Select Committee of Parliament is a platform which belongs to the people of Guyana and we join in the call by the industry to refer the bill to a Select Committee. The Private Sector Commission urges the Government of Guyana to address the civil rights issues contained in the bill through the utilisation of the process of the Select Committee of Parliament,” the statement concluded.

Arguing that the recently-passed Tobacco Control Bill will put hundreds of street vendors out of business while giving rise to the illicit trade of tobacco products, Demerara Tobacco Company (DEMTOCO) has called on President David Granger to withhold his assent, and allow for the Bill to be sent to a Joint Select Committee of the Parliament.

The Tobacco Control Bill was passed last Thursday in the National Assembly with Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence, arguing that the tobacco epidemic remains one of the greatest public health threats of the 21st century, claiming the lives of seven million people annually. Six million of those deaths are as a direct result of tobacco consumption, while about 900,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. It is anticipated that the Bill when enacted will help to curb the manner in which people smoke, resulting in less deaths.