Don't demonise tobacco business

It is quite unfortunate that Dr Knox Hagley, in his letter recently ('Smoking billboard - a cause for concern', Gleaner, June 10, 2013), has seen it fit to deliberately convey misleading and grossly irresponsible comments in his quest to encourage the minister of health to table in Parliament the long-promised tobacco-control legislation.

The truth is, if the intention, as we believe it is, is to put further pressure on Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson to end the talk and bring the legislation for debate in Parliament, surely, there are other credible means of doing so.

It is important, however, to advise you and the public at large that the company rejects any assertion by Dr Hagley, or any member of the anti-tobacco community, that the billboard situated in front of our corporate offices in Twickenham Park, or indeed any of our marketing activities, are directed at children or the country's youth.

The fact is, it is a criminal offence to sell cigarettes to minors, and the company, through its Youth Smoking Prevention Programme, vigorously employs a zero-tolerance approach to all retailers who sell our products. We work continuously with the law-enforcement apparatus.

Additionally, we market and distribute our tobacco products to adults who have taken the decision to smoke. And, access to all our zones and promotions is rigorously screened to ensure that all entrants are adults and that they are also smokers.

The company remains committed to our decision of 2005 to not have a national billboard presence across Jamaica. The billboard located at our Twickenham Park corporate offices is the only one in the country.

RESPONSIBLE POLICY

Mr Editor, Carreras offers a legal product. We are a legitimate corporate entity, and we are the first to state that the consumption of our products can have health consequences. We have never sought to mislead or falsify that fact.

We support the view for the product and its consumption needs to be regulated, and we are on record as saying so publicly. Perhaps Dr Hagley can ensure that the legislation of which he speaks has means within it to prevent the inflow of counterfeit and illicit cigarettes, which pose the greatest threat to vulnerable children.

The unregulated, illicit trade in cigarettes in Jamaica, valued at some $3 billion annually and some 100 million sticks of cigarettes, is a huge problem, about which Dr Hagley and his colleagues remain strangely silent.

In all of this, the company reiterates its support for balanced tobacco-control legislation. We, like Dr Hagley, urge the minister of health to quickly table for debate in Parliament a draft bill.

Christopher R. Brown is head of corporate and regulatory affairs at Carreras Ltd. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and Christopher_Brown@bat.com.