Carreras, the big manufacturer of cigarettes, may not have to end its sponsorship of major sporting events after all.

A select committee of Parliament which studied the Ministry of Health’s proposals to restrict the sale and use of tobacco products, has now recommended that Carreras be allowed to continue sponsoring sporting events, reversing what had been seen as a foregone conclusion.

The recommendation, contained in the report of the Select Committee on Human Resources and Social Development, has now offered a reprieve with conditions for Carreras, which was already on its way out of sponsoring sport and other cultural events, as an international anti-smoking campaign gained steam.

The health ministry, in identifying the areas it said it wished to have addressed by tobacco control legislation likely to be introduced in Parliament during the 2004/2005 session, had proposed a total ban on all advertising, promotions and sponsorships by tobacco companies.

In anticipation of the ban, Carreras withdrew its sponsorship of the main football competition, the National Premier League, and looked set to drop the annual Carreras Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards after a 43-year sponsorship. Teams travelling to the Athens Olympic Games in Greece, as well as other major international events this year, anticipated major financial problems with Carreras being forced to withdraw its $7-million annual support for local sports.

The Select Committee’s about-face followed a submission from the Ministry of Finance and Planning, which last month raised concerns about the implication of the proposed anti-tobacco legislation, on grounds that the proposal to prohibit sponsorship of sporting and other events would have a negative effect on budgetary provisions in respect of community-based objectives.

In its report expected to be tabled in Parliament tomorrow, the Select Committee, chaired by Dr Donald Rhodd, the minister of state in the Ministry of Education, explained that it had considered the ban on sponsorship and promotion of sports, cultural and other events, because the prevailing view was that “a responsible tobacco company ought not to be involved in the sponsorship of these events”.

That view was endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which recommended a cessation of the sponsorship of sports, cultural and other promotional activities over a three- to five-year period, rationalising that “sponsorship of such events provided a means of advertising for these companies and, consequently, it was an avenue for enticing persons, particularly the youth, into taking up the habit of smoking”.

“It was also seen as a contradiction for the tobacco company to be actively involved in activities which promoted healthy lifestyles while, at the same time, they were selling products that adversely affected people’s health,” the report pointed out.

However, the report continued, the committee had considered the arguments against banning sponsorship of events by the tobacco company, including that the targeted persons were adults who were free to choose to smoke or not to smoke. It said it had also taken note of the steps being taken by Carreras to move away from sponsoring sporting and cultural events and to move towards the sponsorship of certain entertainment events.

After further consideration of the issue, the committee said, it had accepted the argument that tobacco companies should not be prevented from sponsoring these events, “as they may be involved in the manufacture of products other than tobacco products and should have the right to promote those products”.

In any event, the company should not be allowed to use any logos or other promotional items relating to tobacco or its products during the sponsorship of the event.

The Carreras Group, which owned over 90 per cent of the Cigarette Company of Jamaica, took over the manufacturing of cigarettes from its subsidiary on January 1 this year, completing the deconglomeration of the group into a single-product, single-entity enterprise.

The Select Committee noted the view that a ban on the smoking of tobacco products and the proposed licensing of the retailers were impractical and would be difficult to enforce. It also noted the submission that, given the statistics revealed by various studies on the impact of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on the health of individuals, particularly non-smokers, smoking should be banned in public places and, in particular, at large entertainment events.

“Some members, however, felt that it would be impossible to enforce a ban on smoking in open places, and the view was also expressed that there was no conclusive evidence to support the claims that ETS had more harmful effects than any other substance,” the report said.

It added that another view was posited that although there should be recognition of the harm caused by passive smoking, the element of individual choice must be preserved.