By Stabroek News
Dear Editor,
The recent news of a call by the World Health Organization (WHO) for taxes to be increased on Alcohol, Tobacco and Sugary Drinks is a very welcome move which should be embraced by the Government of Guyana and any future Government. There is no doubt that Guyana faces a huge crisis as a result of various health challenges facing our relatively young population due to the over consumption and abuse of the said items by local consumers. I call on the Government and also aspirants to political office to publicly take a stand on this issue and to say whether they will accept this advice from the WHO in order to make the cost of consuming these products higher with a view to restricting demand while raising more revenue (health financing) to assist in defraying costs associated with treating the various non communicable diseases associated with the consumption of these products such as diabetes and cancer.
There can be no doubt that these products are wreaking havoc in Guyana with large segments of the population deemed 鈥渦nhealthy鈥 and afflicted with many diseases that are associated with the captioned products. The WHO has suggested a realistically achievable target of an average of 50% increase in taxes phased in over a 10-year period.
I say the Guyanese populace should elect leaders who will take this matter seriously and look forward to some debates involving political contestants where they can be quizzed on their intended policy related to taking stringent and strong action to protect the populace.
Yours sincerely