Argues draconian measures may ultimately lead to nation’s economic detriment

Cigarette company Carreras Ltd is pointing to a clear and present danger posed by the new tobacco bill now before Parliament.

Carreras Managing Director Raoul Glynn said the bill in its present form ”is of grave concern as its inevitable passage would inadvertently ‘criminalise’ the legal trade”, as he called for more consultation on the proposed law.

Glynn stressed that Carreras was in no way rejecting the bill, but implored “the government do a full assessment of the industry before instituting any draconian measures that may ultimately lead to the nation’s economic detriment and to the displacement of a key segment of the Jamaican workforce”.

The bill puts Jamaica in line to satisfy its outstanding obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Treaty, which it ratified some 14 years ago. These are obligations that could not be satisfied under the existing Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations, 2013.

In calling for more consultation on the bill, Glynn emphasised that, “when adopting any legislation, an evaluation of the anticipated benefits as well as the drawbacks must be fully taken into consideration in order to meet the civic needs of the country in question. And, this cannot be achieved without the critical engagement of the key players, otherwise the potential law will fall short of its intended mark and regrettably do more harm than good”.

What Jamaica stands to lose

He hinted at what Jamaica stands to lose if the industry is decimated by this impending law:

• Carreras’ tertiary student scholarship programme that has contributed approximately J$250 million in educational empowerment.
• Quality of life for those persons who benefit from Carreras’ community contributions.
• Industry jobs as well as revenue for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) such as bars.
• The Youth Access Prevention Programme, the only youth public education scheme that denounces smoking, and is fully funded by Carreras.
• The growth of the illicit trade, which notoriously finances organised crime; robs governments of taxes; presents legitimate businesses with unfair competition; puts consumers at great risk due to unknown and unregulated manufacturing standards; and facilitates youth access to smoking via bargain pricing and increased proximity.
• Visibility of legitimate brands with graphic health warnings (GHW), which serve to both educate and discourage consumers. This outcome of the new bill will lead to decreased public education and awareness of the health risks associated with tobacco products.
• The constitutional right of government workers to invest in the legal tobacco trade in securing their own financial futures.

He questioned how the Government was seeking to bridge these gaps, arguing that,” if prohibitions of this magnitude are being made, how will they compensate for these impending shortfalls as failure to do so will guarantee economic recoil”.

Glynn made note that the University of the West Indies, Mona campus has recently announced a $J1-billion cut in scholarships.

He asked if Jamaica, as a developing nation, can afford to halt corporate sponsorship towards academic support, noting that the criteria for receiving a Carreras scholarship does not include an affinity for tobacco consumption.

Batting for smaller stakeholders to be consulted

In advocating that smaller stakeholders be consulted, the Carreras boss made the point that stakeholders are not only limited to manufacturing and distribution companies, but also include small and medium-sized enterprises that depend on its product portfolio to conduct business, as well as the communities that benefit from the company’s largesse.

“This bill, as it is presently framed, may constrict bars and similar establishments from selling legal tobacco products. Who is going to offset this loss for the over 10,000 bar operators in Jamaica,” Glynn asked.

He pointed to the imperative in ensuring that any legislation put forward will indeed have the intended outcome, rather than exacerbate adjacent issues or create entirely new ones. He stated that Carreras supports smoke-free zones; youth public education on the hazards of smoking; advertising and consumer promotion guidelines and the maintenance of graphic health warnings on our cigarette packs.

Since the enactment of the tobacco regulations of 2013 and 2014 Glynn noted that Carreras has been fully compliant.

“In this new normal of widespread financial strife and collective trauma precipitated by the ongoing pandemic, consumers will certainly be lured by the convenience of lower-priced illicit merchandise as the cost gap widens,” he added.

According to the Carreras boss, “the Government should also appreciate that, as a highly productive Jamaican company that not only dedicates itself to the provision of jobs for hardworking Jamaicans and profits for our shareholders, Carreras takes ownership of the corporate social investment we have made in the communities within which we operate, and within which our products are sold and consumed.”

He said: “Last year, while other companies were forced to cut staff and salaries in response to the pandemic, we implemented onboarding and were thankfully able to maintain salaries and provide our inspiring team with much-needed financial stability… . With the tabling of this proposed legislation, we lament that the provisions of the new bill will impair the income and revenue of not just our employees but of all the entrepreneurs operating within a sector that, like so many, has already been affected by the devastating fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.”