SMOKE LIMIT

HCC: TAX ON E-CIGARETTES WOULD BE DETERRENT AND REVENUE-MAKING MOVE

By Jenique Belgrave

Barbados and its Caribbean neighbours are being advised to tax e-cigarettes and vapes as a measure to prevent widespread use, particularly among children and adolescents.
The Barbados-based Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) has made the recommendation in its Vaping Among Adolescents and Youth in the Caribbean Situation, Policy Responses and Recommended Actions June 2023 Report, released on Monday.
The 31-page document stated that the imposition of taxes would act as a deterrent to the use of such products and prevent youth initiation, and the revenue collected from this measure could go towards the budget for health-promoting interventions.
“In the imposition of excise taxes, using ad valorem tax (percentage of cost), specific tax (fixed amount per quantity), or a combination of both, consider: adoption of the best tax structure that contributes to the health goals of effectively deterring consumption and preventing initiation; taxing the e-liquids used for consumption whether they contain nicotine or not; (and) taxing the devices as well, depending on the national administrative capacity to do so,” the report stated.
Saying there has been an increase in the use of electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems or ENDS/ENNDS, especially among young people in the Caribbean, the HCC noted that this is a worrying situation in light of the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases within the region.
“ENDS/ENNDS pose a significant public health danger due to the potential of ENDS to cause addiction, given the nicotine content, and the potential of both ENDS and ENNDS to aggravate respiratory, cardiovascular, and other disorders due to additives, flavourings, and chemicals that may be toxic to human health,” the regional health advocacy group said.
The report pointed out that of the 14 independent Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states, only one country, Suriname, has a total ban on sales of e-cigarettes and vapes; while Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and St Lucia regulate the products, including their use and/or advertisement; and the other nine monitor use among youth.
Vaping is illegal for persons below the age of 18 in Barbados. It is also illegal for them to use tobacco products. According to a 2017 amendment to the Health Services Act, tobacco products include electronic smoking devices.
Noting that there is a need to regulate the commercialisation of ENDS/ENNDS, the HCC outlined that currently only Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Suriname, address the marketing of electronic cigarettes.
In the report, the coalition called for a ban on the use of ENDS/ENNDS in all indoor public spaces, workplaces, on public transportation, and in other designated smoke-free places, and for flavours other than tobacco to be prohibited to prevent the use by young people.
The HCC also advised that the legal age for purchasing these products be increased from 18 years to at least 21 years and that the laws on the minimum age of purchase be strictly enforced in alignment with the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
Pointing out that most CARICOM states were party to the FCTC although they were at varying degrees of progress, the HCC encouraged countries to get in line with its comprehensive tobacco laws and to update these to include the ENDS/ENNDS products, underlining that “these frameworks and other policies aiming to protect youth from the effects of tobacco and nicotine addiction have no doubt contributed to the reduction in tobacco use among this population group in the Caribbean”.
The coalition also encouraged CARICOM to use the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive as a model to consider adopting a regional approach for the national ratification or adoption of legislation, policies, and regulations for tobacco-related products across member states.
The report indicated several challenges to preventing and reducing the use of ENDS/ENNDS by youth, including a lack of political will; a lack of recognition of these products as “drugs”; ease of availability, affordability, and access to the products by young people, their views that ENDS/ENNDS are relatively harmless, and their heightened curiosity to experiment; and a lack of education and knowledge about the dangers of the products among young people and their parents, caregivers, teachers, and other people in positions of authority.
jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb