| Following the plea made by Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, for Guyanese to commence the debate on the banning of smoking in public places and in the transportation system, General Manager of the Demerara Tobacco Company (Demtoco), Charandat Chintamani, said that his company supports the plea by the Health Minister.However, he explained that as long the ban is for indoors, then Demtoco will support it, but if it is banned outdoors, then it will only prove to be more challenging for the company.He explained that the company would like to engage the Ministry of Health in discussions so that they can both arrive at a reasonable solution to the issue.Chintamani said that his company recently launched the smoking prevention campaign and, according to him, it may seem ironic that a tobacco company is involved in such activities, but explained that as a responsible company, it is the initiative to get the programme on board.He also noted that although there is no law in place preventing the company from advertising its products, and selling cigarettes to minors, Demtoco does not indulge in such activities. He once again emphasised that the company is a responsible one.Minister Ramsammy recently urged Guyanese to commence the debate for smoking to be banned in the transportation system, such as in the minibuses and cars.He had noted that once this is done, then the Health Ministry can take the relevant steps in curbing the problem.The Minister had revealed that his Ministry is looking at legislation to ban smoking in public places, as he had noted that Guyanese do not recognize how dangerous the substance is.Currently, the use of tobacco continues to be an area of major focus for the Health Ministry and in this regard, Minister Ramsammy had urged the public to begin the debate and join the advocacy on encouraging people to stop smoking.He explained that if Guyanese start to voice their opinions on whether the government should ban smoking in public places, then his Ministry will move in the direction of having the relevant laws in place to address the issue.He had noted that his Ministry is prepared to make a proposal to Cabinet on the issue, as long as the Guyanese people are prepared to discuss the matter.Currently, smoking has been banned in all health facilities and compounds in the country. Additionally, the Ministry of Education has a ministerial directive to ban smoking in educational facilities.However, Minister Ramsammy is advocating for the need to address what takes place at the Universities, workplaces,NFL Jerseys Clearance, restaurants and bars, where there are frequently large numbers of people, who are exposed to second hand smoking. He emphasized that it is a big issue, and the people need to start the discussion.So far, nine countries around the world have entirely banned the use of tobacco in public places, while other countries have taken partial banning.Partial banning on the use of the substance has been instituted in fourteen countries in the Americas, 30 countries in the Afro region and 19 countries in the Western Pacific.When the debate on the issue commences amongst the people, and it is in favour of banning smoking in public places and the transportation system, then, according to Dr Ramsammy, a proposal will be made to Cabinet to have legislation taken to Parliament in order to institute such a ban. |
