President of the Greater San Fernando Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Kiran Singh, has welcomed the Government’s move to raise the legal age for alcohol and tobacco use from 18 to 21 and for cannabis use and gambling from 18 to 25.
“The youths need some discipline. There is also the ill effects on health and mental capacity when consumption of the substances is abused significantly. And this will certainly deploy the youths from avoiding education and job opportunities. Some of the businesses will be against it because of the fact that they will lose sales from an entertainment perspective.”
Mr Singh acknowledged that some businesses may oppose the measure but said the Chamber believes the social benefits are significant. He added that the proposed fines of up to TT$50,000 could be adjusted if necessary.
“The penalties would seem to be severe, but maybe the government’s intention is to ensure that they are serious about the law and that the persons who wish to break the law that there are serious penalties, financially speaking, if they do break the law, and let’s see how that goes. I don’t know if the penalty, the sum, or the quantum, could change during the debate in Parliament.”
The Miscellaneous Provisions (Alcohol, Cannabis, Dangerous Drugs, Gambling and Tobacco) Bill, 2026, was passed in the Lower House on October 1st.
It will be debated in the Upper House on Friday.