Dr George Laquis

The ban on smoking in Government offices hasn't stopped people either, not when the urge for nicotine kicks in.

Managing director of the West Indian Tobacco Company (Witco), Jean-Pierre Du Coudray, told the Express that a combination of different parts of the company working efficiently translated into the ten per cent increase in profit the company reported for the first six months ended June 30.

This was an after-tax profit of $78.8 million for the period.

Du Coudray said in a telephone interview on Friday that the increase in profit referred not just to Trinidad and Tobago, but the regional market.

Asked about the widely known effects tobacco use had on people, Du Coudray said:

"We believe that smoking is an adult's choice, we don't go after people under 18. Our motto is if you are an adult and you are fully aware of the health risks then you are free to make your decision and we want you to smoke our brand."

Dr George Laquis, chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society (TTCS), told the Express that it was in the hands of the Government to lead the fight against smoking. "Witco has the budget it needs to entice people to smoke. Until the legislation to ban smoking in public places is in effect then we can't fight this," said Laquis.

He said that the Cancer Society had been doing its part to crack down on smoking.

"We have seen the draft legislation. It's good but a bit watered-down in some aspects and we have done our part in terms of critiquing the draft. We can see that Witco is pushing harder and harder to get new smokers before the legislation is passed."

Laquis said that attention should be focused on national programmes with the aim of helping people to quit.

"Smoking is an addiction and it should be treated as such. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, but there should at least be programmes geared towards helping people quit," he said.

Cancer specialist Dr Anesa Ahamad agreed.

She said that more should be done to educate the public on the dangers of smoking

"It's not just enough to say that smoking can kill you because we all have to die anyway. People need to understand that cancer is very costly. Ninety-nine per cent of people who realise they have cancer want to fight it in any possible way. However, radical surgery and radical chemotherapy is very expensive. Cancer affects your everyday living. For a smoker, he risks losing his ability to talk because he may lose his tongue as a result of tongue cancer," said Ahamad.

Ahamad said that although lung cancer was commonly associated with smoking, a smoker could develop cancer of the skin, lung, lip, throat, mouth, voice box, oesophagus, kidney, bladder, cervix and the anus.

"The fact that their (Witco) profit has grown means that they are doing their job. We as healthcare specialists need to do our job better. We need to educate the public on the deadly effects of smoking. I believe the majority of smokers are not well informed. This needs to change. We need to reach people in meaningful ways," she said