HEART Foundation Gets Grant to Help Reduce Tobacco Use

The Heart Foundation of Jamaica/Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control has received a grant from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund, as part of the Bloomberg Initiative to reduce tobacco use.

The grant will be used to support government and civil society actions to ensure the speedy passage, enactment and monitoring of comprehensive tobacco control legislation in Jamaica, that is aligned with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

In an interview with JIS News, Executive Director of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica, Deborah Chen, cited the deleterious effects of tobacco use globally and locally, explaining that the project will assist Jamaica’s efforts to preserve lives through more comprehensive legislation.

“Every six seconds someone dies from a tobacco related illness and up to one half of the people who use it will die from it approximately 15 years prematurely. That translates to an average of 15,000 persons dying every day from tobacco,” she noted. “It is tragic and we must put a stop to it by putting the legislation in place in a more fulsome way,” the Executive Director said.

The project will provide direct technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to develop comprehensive tobacco control legislation; build awareness for the need for such legislation and broaden civil society support for the cause. Technical expertise and advocacy of several regional and international organizations will be provided for the project, which will be housed at the Heart Foundation of Jamaica.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (TFK) is a leading force in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its deadly toll in the United States and around the world.