Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society chairman Dr George Laquis estimates the Government needs to put out a start-up capital of $20 million to provide a comprehensive programme to curb tobacco smoking in T&T. The society, which has been at the forefront in the fight against tobacco usage because of the risk of contracting cancer, was prepared to be of assistance to the State, and he expected the business community to chip in. But Laquis wants no financial help from West Indian Tobacco Company (Witco), the country's sole cigarette manufacturer. "Witco should have no hand in this programme. Their motivation is simple...undermine what we do. "They pretend to be a good corporate citizen, but they are just vultures," declared Laquis.
He said research by the US Surgeon General's department had proven that tobacco-smoking was one of the greatest sources of disease. Cigarette-smoking was more destructive to the human body than any disease, Laquis said. "Most smokers want to stop, but it is a very addictive drug, and they need psychological as well as physiological help to do so," he added. He said the relapse rate of smokers who tried to stop was very high, but most smokers who were determined to quit succeeded after the third try. "Some people stop for an hour; some for a day; some for a week; some for a month. Then they start back. "That is why there are so many different drugs on the market that profess to help smokers quit the habit." What the State had to do was institute a complete tobacco cessation programme.
Tried and tested medical routes available
Asked if the State should subsidise the "patch," which is affixed to the skin and doles out steadily decreasing doses of nicotine that is the main cause of smoking addiction, Laquis said in reality the patch was not very efficient, in effect "half-way nonsense." And there are other tried and tested medical routes to assist smokers to quit, he indicated. He mentioned the use of lasers, acupuncture and drugs like Zaiban and Chantix. Zaiban works by suppressing the desire to have nicotine coursing through the bloodstream, while Chantix depresses the nervous pleasure system that thrives on nicotine, Laquis explained. On November 17, when debate continued in the Senate on the Tobacco Control Bill, 2009, the Cancer Society, supported by 17 prominent organisations, took a full-page advertisement in the daily newspapers, decrying the increased use of tobacco in T&T, and urging speedy passage of the legislation.
According to Laquis, the State needs to invest at least $20 million in a smoking prevention programme, hiring professionals like psychologists to encourage youth to stop the habit, or stay away from it if they have not yet been hooked. "That is the cheapest money the State will ever spend. "Smoking is a serious problem, more serious then people think. "It is not a problem to minimise...We cannot afford it, plain and simple," Laquis declared. "If we had better statistics we would have been scared. With proper statistics we would see that what we have is a disaster...We would close down the tobacco industry globally. "I don't think this industry will exist in 30 to 40 years; the manufacturers will make as much money as they can, then divest into another area. "The world cannot afford to allow the tobacco industry to continue to exist," Laquis stressed. In his view, no country can afford the cost of treating the number of nationals who become sick through the smoking habit. He said a US study had found if the tobacco company paid $1 in tax, it costs three times that to treat the diseases that smoking caused. In addition, the productive years of the ill smoker are lost to the national gross domestic product.