Tobacco industry appeals for time as deadline looms

Apr 13, 2018 News

Managing Director, Maurlaine Argyle-Kirton and Christopher Brown, Head of Legal and External Affairs.

As the local tobacco industry continues to grapple with the realities of tough new laws, there are calls now for the authorities to pronounce on the timelines for full implementation.
The pronouncements will help in not only education for the stakeholders, including retailers, but allow time for packaging and other changes that are mandated.
The call was made Wednesday evening when the Demerara Tobacco Company Limited and the British American Tobacco hosted a media social at the Pegasus Hotel.
The tobacco laws were passed in the National Assembly last July, and assented to by President David Granger a few weeks later.
The commencement orders were signed in December.
Under the new laws, Demtoco and other companies will have to advertise the dangers of smoking, using the packaging and other forums to send the message.
Persons selling cigarettes from trays and in containers will no longer be allowed to, once the law kicks into full force.
However, Demtoco is appealing for clear statements on the timelines to prepare.
The industry makes hundreds of millions annually. However, the exact figures are unknown as a large part of tobacco trade in Guyana is illicit.
In fact, in neighbouring Suriname, and little further in Panama, it is estimated that seven out of every 10 cigarettes are smuggled.
In addition to the tax losses, there are also issues of questions about the conditions under which these cigarettes were produced, says Christopher Brown, Head of Legal and External Affairs of the British American Tobacco, Caribbean.
Also at the event Wednesday evening was Managing Director of the Demerara Tobacco Company, Murlain Argyle-Kirton.
The Managing Director made it clear that the industry has been coming under the microscope in recent times, following the passage of that Tobacco Act.
The challenge the industry is facing is the openness of some stakeholders to engage to give the necessary information to plan, to forecast and to ensure the compliance process go as smooth as possible, she explained.
The role of the tobacco industry is to provide an adult product to consumers.
Admitting it is a “controversial product”, which the company is admitting, the official stressed that Demtoco and its partners have taken steps to ensure that they are complying.
It was involved in the initial draft stages of the Bill.

Over 1,072 bales and 48 cases of GT Smart Cigarettes were seized recently by GRA.

The company has started a campaign to sensitise stakeholders about selling to or employing children.
With over 84 years in the business, she said, her company is responsible, paying its taxes and ensuring employment.
According to Brown, the company is not opposed to regulations.
Rather, the company recognized that it is a part of the new emerging realities.
He noted that with the passage of the legislations, Guyana joins Jamaica, Trinidad and Suriname as the main English-speaking countries in the Caribbean, to have comprehensive tobacco laws.
There are others, with not so comprehensive legislation.
Since the commencement order was passed in December, there has been some amount of uncertainty.
Demtoco has been seeking to have dialogue.
Part of the fear the industry has, not that there is an anxiousness to have the Bill implemented, is the concern that stakeholders do not want to awake one day and then hear that the Bill is effective.
Rather, there are processes, in the manufacturing phase, that require a specified time period that products have to be made and then place into the market, Brown pointed out.
Sections of the Bill require warning on packs, including pictorial warnings, among other changes.
Then there are ban on smoking in public places, both indoors and in outdoor areas, where persons are gathered.
Once enforcement kicks in, if caught smoking in public places, the facility’s manager could be libel too.
According to Brown, Demtoco is not out to win souls, but the reality is that the company is dealing with a legitimate product.
He also lauded the efforts of the Guyana Revenue Authority to halt smuggling, as evidenced from recent seizures of smuggled cigarettes.
There have also been moves by GRA to introduce a stamp tax on cigarettes.
Demtoco is prepared to cooperate especially as the illicit trade is costing the country taxes and has health implications.
Smuggling is part of organised crime, he noted.