MoH to focus on preventing youths from getting “hooked” on tobacco products

…as Guyana joins world in observing No Tobacco Day

Almost five years since the passage of the Tobacco Control Act, the Guyana Government has admitted that there is still a need for better sensitisation and educational campaigns on the use of tobacco products in the country.

Curtailing the use of tobacco products among the younger population is now a central focus of the Health Ministry, as new inventions and packaging to market the dangerous substance continue to lure people.
The Health Ministry has partnered with the Education Ministry to enhance its education campaign against tobacco usage and its effects on health.
During a World No Tobacco Day event on Tuesday, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony relayed that as youths experiment with the new tobacco products and electronic devices being marketed, they stand a higher chance of getting hooked, making them lifelong prisoners to smoking.
“We need to talk to younger people and get them to understand the dangers of smoking. The people who are in charge of marketing cigarettes, they realised that if you get somebody hooked on cigarettes before the age of 18, then the chances are that they would become lifelong smokers. Cigarettes contain nicotine which is an addictive substance. That can lead to psychological dependence and then physical dependence, and then you’re hooked.”
He warned that the new e-cigarettes and vaping equipment being invented to attract the younger age groups have the same effect as smoking cigarettes, as they contain the same compounds that would cause damage to the body.
“You hear about hookah bars where you can go and smoke and all of that stuff. You hear about vaping and electronic cigarettes. But all these things still contain nicotine. Some of them contain the dangerous constituents of cigarettes and therefore, would still do damage to your body. While they would modernise the packaging of these things, the effect is still the same.”
The latest survey from the World Bank shows that some 12 per cent of the adult population is smoking, painting the need for education and enforcement of the laws.
A two-prong approach has been identified by the Health Minister to curb the smoking epidemic in Guyana: prevention through education and sensitisation for smokers. He underscored that greater education is needed on the Tobacco Control Act, which was introduced in 2017 and lists provisions for the sale, use and packaging of the substance.
Businesses and institutions, he noted, should be more acquainted with the provisions under the Act.
“One of the things that we have to do more of is to get more institutions and businesses acquainted with the provisions of the legislation. I don’t think a lot of people understand what is there and therefore, one of the things we have to do more of is to educate people pertaining to those provisions. If people are smoking in indoor spaces, or public spaces, that’s an offence. If they persist and they don’t want to listen to the proprietor or whoever is administering that space, then that person can be fined. Many of our institutions that have the task of imposing those fines, have not been very diligent in how they’re doing so.”
The Health Minister further highlighted the consequences attached to smoking and the fact that people are damaging their health in the process. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. It also increases the risk of tuberculosis, and problems with the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis.
“One wonders why people would pay so much money to then cause themselves diseases. Literally, with every pack of cigarettes that you’re buying, you’re actually putting your health at risk and endangering yourself. Every cigarette that you smoke, you’re lessening your life…We need to help people to understand this.
We need to be careful. They’re interested in making money but in the process of making money, they’re damaging people’s health. We have to make sure that people have the information where they would make wise choices and it would be for their health,” he pointed out.
Last week, the Presidential Commission on the Prevention and Control of NCDs voiced its concerns over the use of and prevalence of e-cigarettes and hookahs, calling for urgent regulation.
The Presidential Commission only recently underscored its disappointment with the weak implementation of the law in Guyana, while also highlighting that the global efforts to reduce the risk of tobacco use continue unabated. The Commission has committed to intensifying its efforts to lead the fight against tobacco and tobacco product use in Guyana.
The Tobacco Act 2017 recognises that the alternatives the tobacco industry has provided do not represent a healthier alternative to traditional tobacco products and, therefore, the regulations in the Tobacco Control Act 2017 equally applies to these products.
Clauses 25 (2), 29, 30 and 33 of Guyana’s Tobacco Control Act requires that e-cigarette and hookah products must be properly packaged and labelled before they are permitted to enter Guyana and before they are allowed to be distributed and sold in the country.
Under Section 25 (2) of the Packaging and Labelling Regulations (2018), hookah products must meet the same packaging and labelling requirements as traditional tobacco products.