Dear Editor,
I thank Dr. Leslie Ramsammy for his recent hopeful statements with regard to his intention to reinject some energy and momentum into policing the legislation passed some years ago to rein in tobacco consumption in Guyana, which effectively banned its use in Government Buildings and other Public Spaces. I think that it was during Dr. Ramsammy’s tenure as Health Minister that the groundwork for this legislation was intensified. So we need a “retripling” of efforts, for emphasis, in our endeavours in this country to reduce tobacco consumption drastically by strict enforcement of our laws to curb demand while at the same time increasing taxes on the importation and sale of tobacco products. Look at the profit Demtoco declares for selling a product that is injurious to its consumers! I hope the current Minister of Health and his team will be infused with the same energy and enthusiasm shown by Dr. Ramsammy in his capacity as Head of the Non Communicable Diseases Com-mission with the objective of pushing consumption downwards.
However, Editor, alcohol abuse poses a much more serious problem in this country with direct impact seen in domestic abuse, murders, rapes, accidents etc., and it is mind boggling that Dr. Ramsammy and his colleagues in Government seem not to pay any attention to this monster in our midst wreaking havoc in every corner of this country. One only need to look at the financials of DDL, Banks, AnsaMcal and others to see the huge profits (read strong demand and healthy profit margins) that these companies are raking in due to the unimpeded and seemingly unregulated sale of alcohol based beverages throughout Guyana. Every day when one reads the newspapers there is surely an article on persons caught with marijuana, cocaine and other narcotics which are all destroying our youngsters in particular and encouraging a life of addiction and concomitant criminality.
The treasury may be garnering significant revenues from the tobacco and alcohol related businesses but the national health bill will increase exponentially to deal with cancers, other related diseases and enormous social costs that accrue from the abuse of these products together with much reduced productivity by our workforce. As it stands, most employers and contractors can testify to large numbers of absent employees on Mondays and even Tuesdays after long “sporting” sessions no doubt consisting of alcohol binges, cigarette smoking and marijuana/ cocaine consumption. Our current and future governments need to put this issue on the front burner and keep it there so that some significant success can be had to significantly stem the social mayhem that these products have wrought on our small society. Can our Parliamentarians on both sides of the aisle agree on the need for urgent and decisive action and work assiduously and relentlessly to save our country from descending into the abyss of no return amidst the widespread and reckless use of aforementioned addictive substances?
Sincerely,
Chris Persaud
