Tobacco.org

• New bill proposes more protection for non-smokers 

A bill that intends to "assert the rights of non-smokers over that of smokers", ban the sale of tobacco products to minors and prohibit the employment of minors to sell or handle such products is now before the Senate.

The new bill, which is called The Tobacco Control Bill, 2008, requires a special majority vote of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, since it is inconsistent with sections four and five of the Constitution.

Both sections define and govern the rights and freedoms of all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. . . .

The bill was introduced to the Senate on April 22, where it is to be debated first before being introduced to the Lower House.

It is to be piloted by Health Minister Jerry Narace and is meant to implement the requirements contained in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which this country signed on August 27, 2003 and ratified on August 19, 2004. . . .

Clause eight says all persons "shall have the right to be free from involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke in all public places, including workplaces, places of collective use and on public conveyances".

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$3M fine for illegal tobacco sales 

BUSINESS PERSONS selling tobacco products without a licence will face a fine of TT$3 million and five years in jail while persons smoking in public places will have to pay a fine of TT$10,000. These were some of the tough measures outlined in the Tobacco Control Bill 2008 which was laid in the Senate.

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Move to prevent sale of cigarettes to minors 

CHAIRMAN of the West Indian Tobacco company Anthony E Phillip has called for a change in the legislation regarding the sale of cigarettes to minors.

Responding to a stakeholder's enquiry as to what the company was doing to prevent the sale of cigarettes to children under the age of 18, Phillip stated that the company had long been against the practice and had been lobbying for laws to be put in place to prohibit the sale of cigarettes to minors.

"We hope that a change in legislation will be swift," said Phillip at the company's annual general meeting at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain, on Thursday.

Phillip added that the company had started the "Can't vote, Don't smoke" advertising campaign within the last year and also stopping advertising in media that may be available to children.

"We recognise that we are in controversial industry but we don't encourage the sale of cigarettes to minors," said Phillip.

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• $157m WITCO profit as tobacco laws loom 

Despite rising prices and several public health warnings, smokers still spent thousands of dollars on cigarettes within the last 12 months.

The West Indian Tobacco Company has reported a record profit of $157 million for the company's last financial year, which ended on December 31 2007.

An advertisement published in yesterday's newspapers displayed the company's profit earnings for the last year. . . .

And while most smokers the Express questioned said they still smoke the same amount they did when they just started, some admitted that in spite of the much talked about health risks, their daily cigarette quota had grown with time. . . .

However, yesterday, Health Minister Jerry Narace said the Government had taken up the fight against cigarette addiction and will be doing its share of work to help decrease the number of smokers and the amount of cigarettes used in Trinidad and Tobago.

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• New tobacco-related legislation coming soon 

LOCAL cigarette manufacturer West Indian Tobacco Company (Witco) has expressed support of greater regulations for the industry and is ready to meet with the Minister of Health to discuss new tobacco-related legislation. This in light of Health Minister Jerry Narace's announcement in Parliament on Monday that the government plans ban smoking in public places and ban the sale of, advertisement and promotion of tobacco to children.

Witco managing director Jean-Pierre du Coudray told the Express yesterday that the company has for many years been regulating itself according to international standards when it comes to the sale, advertisement or promotion of tobacco products to people under the age of 18 years.

He added that while it is still within the law to advertise cigarettes via television, radio, newspapers, billboards, Witco has accepted its responsibility to the public and has ceased this sort marketing.

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Doctor: Stop the smoking, drinking 

ABOUT 95 per cent of patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer locally were smokers, Dr Wendell Dwarika said yesterday.

He was speaking to the Express at the fifth Annual Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) workshop at the Normandie Hotel, St Ann's.

Dwarika, president of the ENT Society, was the organiser of the course, which was geared towards educating general practitioners about medical conditions affecting their patients.

Thirty-one doctors from across the country attended the workshop yesterday morning

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Price hike for Witco cigarettes 

Smokers paid higher cigarette prices when they went to buy their favourite brands yesterday.

A West Indian Tobacco Company Ltd advertisement published in yesterday's newspapers displayed the company's new price list.

The ad noted that the company's Dunhill, du Maurier, Broadway and Pall Mall brands were affected by the increase.

Dunhill has replaced Benson and Hedges.

Compared to the June 18 price structure the new list showed the cost of all full packs being raised by $1 and half packs by 50 cents except for the Pall Mall full flavour half pack which was not affected. . . .

Du Coudray said: "There was a double digit increase in the cost of tobacco leaves. We know there are cheaper leaves available but we could not compromise the high quality consumers have grown to expect from Witco."

He added there was also a "global increase in the cost of plastics and resins, which directly affected the cost of packaging cigarettes".

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• Surgeon general inks sailors' cigarette packs for vow to quit 

PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD - The encounter this week was opportune.

The man whose warning label graces every cigarette pack in the United States paid a visit to a U.S. Navy hospital with 700 military personnel and civilians on board, among them more than a few addicted smokers.

As Rear Adm. Kenneth Moritsugu, the acting surgeon general, toured the USNS Comfort in this southern Caribbean capitol, he found himself autographing sailors' cigarette packs as keepsakes -- with a hitch.

In exchange, the nation's top doctor made them pledge to kick the habit.

On the spot.

"This may well be the motivation they need," Moritsugu said in a shipboard interview . . .

The impromptu initiative was unwittingly started Thursday by an at-times wisecracking sailor aboard the boat, Petty Officer 3rd Class Tyler Jones, who works as a Navy journalist and who has smoked since college.

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THE LAST PACK. 07/20/07.
Rear Adm. Kenneth Moritsugu, US acting surgeon general, autographed cigarette packs for sailors on a hospital ship in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, but at a price--a pledge to quit. Cigarettes are still sold on the ship.

PM warns: Cigarette, alcohol prices will rise 

Further increases in the duties on alcohol and cigarettes will be imposed if the ruling People's National Movement wins the upcoming general election, Prime Minister Patrick Manning disclosed yesterday.

He said his administration believed it was one way to deal with the increase in non-communicable diseases in the country.

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High price of smoking 

THE dangers of smoking and the high cost of cigarettes have not deterred people from the habit.

The ban on smoking in Government offices hasn't stopped people either, not when the urge for nicotine kicks in.

Managing director of the West Indian Tobacco Company (Witco), Jean-Pierre Du Coudray, told the Express that a combination of different parts of the company working efficiently translated into the ten per cent increase in profit the company reported for the first six months ended June 30.

This was an after-tax profit of $78.8 million for the period.

Du Coudray said in a telephone interview on Friday that the increase in profit referred not just to Trinidad and Tobago, but the regional market.

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3 cigarettes out 

THE WEST Indian Tobacco Company (Witco) has ceased production of Mt Dor, du Maurier Lights and du Maurier Menthol brands of cigarettes effective immediately.

Witco managing director Jean-Pierre du Coudray told the Express in an interview last week that the move to de-list the three products is part of a strategic plan to build a robust portfolio for the tobacco company.

Du Coudray said that three main points were taken into consideration before the decision was taken to do away with the line of cigarettes.

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MPATT backs smoking ban 

HEALTH MINISTER John Rahael yesterday said new legislation to ban smoking in all public places should be laid in Parliament within the next four to six weeks. Rahael said this legislation would require a special majority for passage and he was optimistic that Government would receive that support from either the Opposition UNC or the Congress of the People (COP) when it comes to the House of Representatives. The Medical Professionals Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MPATT), which has opposed Government’s health sector initiatives on many occasions, yesterday said it supported in principle any legislation to curb smoking.

Rahael told Newsday that when this country signed the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004, it was the first nation in the Caribbean to do so.

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Puffin' profits 

THE West Indian Tobacco Company (Witco) is not worried about any negative economic fallouts of a possible ban on smoking in public places. This confidence on the part of the country’s leading tobacco manufacturer could be attributed to its “smoking” profits over the last five years. These figures were announced at the company’s recent annual general meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Port-of-Spain.

From 2002 to 2006, Witco’s profits before taxation were $113, 626M, $122,620M, $139,756M, $157,964M and $194, 362M respectively.

Even after tax, those figures still looked healthy: $75,854M, $88,062M, $98,197M, $115,748M and $143,733M respectively. In terms of domestic revenues from 2002 to 2006- $362M, $373M, $417M, $458M and $520M — the figures also made good reading.

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New smoking legislation should protect rights of all 

ANY new legislation governing the tobacco industry must equally recognise the rights of smokers and non-smokers.

Managing director of West Indian Tobacco Company, Jean Pierre du Coudray, on Thursday said that while Witco has not been told of any forthcoming legislation, it is prepared to sit and work with Government for an equitable outcome.

"We are trying to find an equal balance in terms of moving forward and the type of legislation we'll be discussing. We want to make sure that the rights of our consumers are as protected as the rights of non-smokers," he said at the conclusion of Witco's annual general meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Port of Spain.

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• Witco ready for smoking ban 

THE West Indian Tobacco Company (WITCO) yesterday said its business would not be adversely affected by new legislation coming to Parliament in April which could lead to a ban on smoking in public places. While stating that WITCO has no idea about the details of this legislation, managing director Jean-Pierre Du Coudray said WITCO will continue to work with Government to ensure that the rights of smokers and non-smokers are equally respected.

On Wednesday, Health Minister John Rahael again hinted that Government will bring new tobacco laws to Parliament next month.

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