NCD battle continues

As soon as Parliamentary approval is given, there will be new labelling for cigarettes sold on the local market.

 

Member of Parliament for Christ Church South and Minister of Health, John Boyce, made the disclosure recently at a constituency branch meeting at the St. Lawrence Primary School. Minister Boyce, who is also the Leader of Government Business in the Lower House, told those gathered that while Government has addressed the matter of cigarette smoking “in large measure”, labelling of cigarettes is an item that remains outstanding and will “come under the scrutiny of Parliament very soon”.

 

“As a matter of fact, it will be the subject of our management meeting as to when we will be able to lay that in Parliament. I think the certificate has now been issued by the Attorney General, so it is ready for putting in place,” he said.

 

The health minister explained that the legislative provision will require sellers of cigarettes to include in their packaging graphic images that indicate to Barbadians that the continued smoking of tobacco can lead to health conditions which are “all too very unpleasant”.

 

Speaking to the media prior to the meeting he noted that while taxes on cigarettes are high, there are still persons who smoke and it is a battle the health authorities have to continue to fight given the link between smoking and cancer. His comments came as he referred to the sweet drink beverage tax introduced by the Democratic Labour Party Government in the 2015 Budget, which he indicated is currently being assessed. That ten per cent excise tax was placed on sweetened beverages such as carbonated soft drinks, juice drinks and fruit juices that include high calorie sweeteners.

 

“We know it is one of those taxes that falls into the area of what they refer to as sin taxes, it is like the whiskey and the alcohol and indeed I mentioned the cigarettes… The revenues raised of course will help to make sure that we have funds available for our health care generally, but we don’t want to be spending good money in areas where it could be avoided, if we as Barbadians engage in much healthier practices,” he stated.

With that in mind, Minister Boyce is adamant that Barbadians need to avoid the excessive use of sugars, as that can contribute to persons suffering from one or more non-communicable diseases. He made the point while noting that there is scientific proof that sugars feed cancers and is also not good for diabetics. (JRT)