Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tobacco ads lawful

Date:

Share post:

I HAVE SEEN some articles recently in the newspaper about tobacco advertising and, more specifically, billboard advertising from Caribbean & Sea and note the Government’s intent to put laws in place to address tobacco advertising.

At the same time, I noticed an article last week which made mention of some statistic stating that “over the past five years, fewer tobacco-based cigarettes were imported into the island”.

In 2011, imports were valued at $13 103 418 but in 2015, the figure dropped to $9 055 274 – a decrease of $4 048 144.

Until such time, tobacco advertising is not against the law.

I do believe that cigarette companies should be mindful of the potential for advertisements to be seen by people under the age of 18 as, really, this product is a legal commodity made for adults who have decided to smoke.

As a smoker myself, I am well informed of the health risk as there are warnings on all packs.

More importantly, and given the state of our economy, I believe we should look at the bigger picture here and understand the reason behind this decline.

Is it that more illegal cigarettes are coming in and therefore fewer legal cigarettes are being sold? What does that mean for the revenue which the Government is not collecting? Are we being foolish to believe that banning tobacco advertising can help us collect our due taxes?

Think again!

– PETER SMITH

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related articles

Beyoncé shares ‘Cowboy Carter’ tracklist

Yeehaw! Beyoncé’s new album is almost here. The singer revealed the tracklist for “Act 2: Cowboy Carter” on Instagram...

Four killed during stabbing spree in Illinois

Illinois, USA - Four people have been killed and at least five injured after a man armed with...

Guilty of having sex with minor

The St Michael man who was earlier this month on trial in the No. 4A Supreme Court, accused...

Disgraced ‘Crypto King’ to be sentenced

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former billionaire crypto boss who was convicted of fraud and money laundering last year, will...