The fight for tobacco control will be more robust in 2010 with an intense focus on labelling and packaging, Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said yesterday while registering his disappointment that required standards are not yet in place here.

The Minister said he is concerned that the recommendations of the Tobacco Council for a revision of the labelling and packaging standards in Guyana have not yet been implemented. The current standard in Guyana is less than what is stipulated by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC said packaging should not be less than 50% on each surface, that is, a picture message.

Ramsammy said the Ministry and the Tobacco Council have proposed that picture messages on packages here should be 50% as the minimum requirement. He said the Council has submitted this proposal to the Bureau of Standards, which the Bureau has not objected to, but he stressed that there is no indication yet as to whether the proposal is accepted.

The Ministry of Tourism has also received the proposal, but is presently carrying out its own consultations, Ramsammy said. “…I am disappointed that we are still discussing this issue in Guyana”, the Minister noted. He also raised concerns about consumer groups that are calling on the Ministry to afford the tobacco companies a greater voice. Ramsammy rejected this saying his Ministry is not indebted to the tobacco companies but “the people of Guyana”.

Within recent months the Ministry of Health has moved towards testing hair samples to determine the levels of nicotine among people who spoke and those who do not. He said the Ministry is accumulating data for “the battle” against tobacco control. He also called on the Caricom Secretariat to address the issue of regional standards for tobacco control. According to Ramsammy, it is unacceptable that regional standards have not yet been established. He said the entities tasked with working on the standards in the region are citing intellectual property rights as a restriction toward implementation.

Ramsammy said also that legislation regulating tobacco control would be introduced “in time” since consultations are yet to be held. He said the Ministry’s proposal makes provision for a ban on public smoking, noting that this would be included in the legislation. According to him, Guyana is seeking to join other countries including Trinidad and Tobago which have regulated the industry by legislating a public ban on smoking.

Further, he said smuggling continues to be an issue here because cigarettes are still being transported illegally over borders. He noted the smuggled products are being displayed on shelves across the country.