Health Ministry mulling 50 per cent increase in tobacco taxes

Jun 03, 2014 News

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– in quest to reduce impact of smoking

A 50 per cent increase in tobacco taxes is being touted as a strategic move to reducing the number of smokers across the globe to 49 million within the next three years, saving 11 million lives.
This deduction is in fact one made by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which has been gaining support from a number of countries in this regard, Guyana being no exception.
Moreover, the local Ministry of Health, in its relatively quiet observance of World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) this past weekend, voiced support for the WHO stance against tobacco.
According to Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, the local Ministry of Health to mark the May 31 WNTD observance echoed the need for an increase in tobacco taxes in Guyana. “It is estimated that increasing the taxes in Guyana by 50 per cent will reduce smoking by about 10 per cent and can save up to 255 lives between 2015 and 2017,” .Dr. Persaud asserted.
Smoking, according to him, is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease which is also known to cause lung and other forms of cancer and even contributes to the severity of pneumonia, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Added to this already daunting dilemma, non-smokers too can be equally affected if they are exposed to second-hand smoke, Dr. Persaud stressed.  “For example, inhaling second-hand smoke may adversely affect children’s growth and cause childhood illness, especially respiratory diseases,” explained the CMO.
As such, he noted that the onus remains on Ministries of Health to continually highlight the dangers of tobacco to the health of users and also those who are unwillingly exposed to tobacco smoke.
Dr Persaud disclosed that tobacco smoke is attributed to about 18 per cent of the deaths between the ages of 29 and 59 years.
It is also the task of the Health Ministry to advocate for smokers’ health and provide necessary services for them to quit, said .Dr. Persaud, who disclosed that “about 84, 000 men and about 8,000 women smoke tobacco in Guyana.”
Based on the Ministry of Health’s Demographic Health Survey of 2009, three per cent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 reported that they used cigarettes and less than one per cent said that they smoke other tobacco products.
By contrast, around 33 per cent of men aged 15 – 49 use tobacco products with 29 per cent of them smoking cigarettes, three per cent using other tobacco products and less than one per cent utilising a pipe.
The survey found too that among women, consumption of cigarettes increased somewhat with age, from one percent among women age 15-19 to seven percent by age 40-44.
Looking specifically at localities, it was deduced that smoking among women is higher in urban areas than in rural areas ranging from two per cent in Regions One, Two, and Five, to seven per cent in Region Eight.
Added to this, Dr. Persaud noted that “there was very little variation by education and wealth quintile in the percentage of women who smoke cigarettes.”
It was also found that 45 per cent of men age 40-44 smoke cigarettes, compared with eight per cent of men age 15-19. Further, it was ascertained that unlike the situation with women, men in rural areas are more likely to smoke than men in urban areas characterised by 32 percent versus 23 percent. However, tobacco use among men in interior locations was found to be as high as 43 per cent.
It was found that smoking cigarettes among men is lowest in Region 10 (16 percent) and highest in Region One (52 percent). Men with secondary (27 percent) and higher education (13 percent) and those in the highest wealth quintile (17 percent) are the least likely to smoke cigarettes when compared with other sub-groups.
The survey uncovered too that among male smokers, 38 percent reportedly smoked 10 or more cigarettes in the 24 hours preceding the survey while the percentage of men who smoked 10 or more cigarettes in the preceding 24-hour increased with age from seven per cent of men age 15-19 to 50 per cent among those ages 35-44.
Although there was no urban-rural area differences, men in the interior area (22 percent) were much less likely to have smoked 10 or more cigarettes in the preceding 24 hours than other men. There were also large differences among Regions in the percentages of heavy smokers, ranging from 12 per cent in Region Nine to 50 percent in Region Six.
As a result, Dr. Persaud highlighted the need for strategic moves to be made to prevent new persons from smoking, especially adolescent and young adults since “every year an estimated 1,800 young males and females start smoking.”
According to him too, Ministries of Health are required to spearhead efforts to raise awareness among different sectors of the government about the importance of tobacco tax increases as a public health policy.
Dr. Persaud highlighted too the need to support Ministries of Finance in their efforts to raise taxes and implement related policies. “Tobacco takes the lives of many of our brothers and sisters without us not being aware of its role. Let’s join hand in the fight against this powerful killer and protect all of our people from the devastating effects of tobacco,” said Dr. Persaud who noted that since smoking is an acquired behaviour adopted by individuals over time, all associated morbidity and mortality are in fact preventable.

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