Tobacco Control regulators meet for the first time

May 11, 2019 News

The Tobacco Control Council convened and held a meeting for the first time, yesterday, in the boardroom of the Health Sector Development Unit of

The Minister of Public Health convened the meeting of the Tobacco Regulators yesterday

the Ministry of the Public Health.
Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence, opened the meeting. She urged the members of the council to hold steadfast to its mandate. She said it is projected that, by 2030, Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) will account for about 75 percent of deaths, worldwide.
She expressed dismay at the fact that young people especially, are falling prey to those. Lawrence said that, at this rate, Guyana can’t afford to provide comprehensive care with statistics that are so dire.
The Public Health Ministry, she said, plays a key role in ensuring that decisive actions and measures are taken to mitigate the adverse effects of tobacco usage.
“I need to see action,” she told the councilors.
The members of the council are those mandated by the Tobacco Control Act of 2017, and are purported to be free of any conflict of interest. They are Mahadeo Ramjag of the Guyana Revenue Authority’s Customs and Trade Administration Department, Shailendra Rai from Bureau of Standards, Melissa Del Richards (Assistant Director of Sport), Dr. Latoya Gooding (Founder of Giving Hope Foundation), Desiree Edghill (Executive Director of Artistes in Direct Support), Dr. Mayon Amsterdam (Technical Officer of the Risk Factor Reduction Department at the Ministry of Public Health), Kesaundra Alves (Legal Officer) and Dr. Kavita Singh (Chronic Diseases Coordinator).
As mandated by the act, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, is the chairperson of the council.
In a presentation to the council, Alves spoke of the veracity with which certain sections of the tobacco industry operate. She recalled that when the Tobacco Control Act was to be passed in 2017, Demerara Tobacco pushed to persuade members of parliament to vote against it, by sharing propaganda.
The company had claimed that the bill is draconian, that it causes great harm to society, and that it would spur organised crime, among other things.
But the Bill was passed, setting in motion the mechanism that allowed for the formation of this council.
Alves explained this to make the point that the members of the council should guard themselves against lobbying by the industry.
Alves noted that in 2010, Guyana’s tobacco prevalence rate was the third highest in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). But the Act has put in place certain measures to attempt to mitigate those ills.
It dictated a ban on smoking in indoor public spaces, certain outdoor spaces, and strict regulations about how cigarettes should be sold. For example, cigarettes may not be sold singularly, nor may they be sold to or from a minor.
Many other measures in the act are laid out to ensure that adults buying it are well informed about the risks, that smokers don’t harm non-smokers, and that the marketing of it would be heavily regulated.
At this juncture, Alves told the council that the onus now should be on ensuring that the act is implemented. That involves producing a national tobacco strategy, raising public awareness, and training enforcement officers (including customs officers and health inspectors).
She affirmed that the right to health is the right to life, and that governments’ have a responsibility to ensure those rights are respected.
The law mandates that the council meet quarterly, or more frequently if that is necessary to fulfill its duties.

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