Imbert: Tobacco companies seeking refuge in TT

HEALTH MINISTER Colm Imbert said legislation currently being drafted by his Ministry will ensure that foreign tobacco companies do not use Trinidad and Tobago as a refuge from the global anti-tobacco movement.

The Minister told Newsday yesterday that because these companies “are getting so much pressure” from the anti-tobacco movement and are being “pushed out” of First World nations like the United States and Canada, they are now turning their attention to Third World nations. Imbert said this was why TT and 99 other nations signed an international convention against tobacco at the World Health Assembly held last May/June in Geneva. He said the proposed legislation will, ban tobacco advertisements, ban the sale of tobacco to minors and institute strict controls regarding the use of tobacco. Asked if he was concerned about opposition to the legislation from the West Indian Tobacco Company (WITCO) or any foreign tobacco company, Imbert replied: “So what if they rile up?” The minister said the arguments from these companies regarding the sale of tobacco were hardly convincing when one considers the attached health risks. “It is a poison,” he stated grimly. Imbert added that the legislation will be brought for Cabinet consideration “in due course.” 

The minister said different signatories to the convention will approach the matter differently and Brazil is considering legislation which will force tobacco companies to produce advertisements showing the dangers of smoking. Imbert will have to answer questions from his predecessor Dr Hamza Rafeeq about the terms and conditions of employment of the volunteer doctors being recruited through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the terms and conditions of the Cuban doctors being recruited to work in Trinidad and Tobago and the process for registration of the Cuban — and UNDP-sourced doctors to work in TT, when Parliament resumes on Friday. On Monday, Imbert said legislation to effect the necessary regulations attached to the Human Tissue Transplant Act 2000 will be laid in Parliament and expressed optimism that they will be approved either by the end of September or early October and all the necessary mechanisms will be in place by December 31 for tissue transplant procedures to be undertaken in TT.