The National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) is celebrating its 35th anniversary under the theme ‘It Takes a Village…It Starts with Me’. The agency is committed to lowering risk factors and increasing protective measures for substance use among individuals, families, communities, educational institutions and public- and private-sector entities, through public education campaigns, research, advocacy and interactive evidence-based programmes. In an...

Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says greater focus needs to be placed on the prevention of tooth decay, and dental professionals are well qualified to spread the message. Delivering the main address at the University of Technology (UTech) 7th Annual White Coat Ceremony at the institution in St. Andrew on November 6, the Minister pointed out that...

Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says that comprehensive tobacco legislation is coming next year. He said that the law will, among other things, restrict tobacco companies from advertising in certain settings. “(It) will require greater warning labels, which will do a number of things to get consumers clear in their minds what the consequences of consuming tobacco...

The Back Pasture to Brown’s Hall main road in St. Catherine is to be rehabilitated at a cost of $98 million. Member of Parliament for West Central St. Catherine, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said bushing of the roadway has started, and pedestrians and motorists traversing the area will soon have a “much smoother” road surface. Dr. Tufton, who is...

Residents of Brown’s Hall in St. Catherine and surrounding communities will be getting free health services at the soon-to-be-established Friends of the Brown’s Hall Health Centre. Chairman and Managing Director of Kemteck Development and Construction Limited, Sylvester Tulloch, who is co-financing the $25-million health centre, said persons will receive optical and dental services, mammograms, antenatal care, home visits from a...

Cervical cancer survivor, Juliet Davis, is in support of the Health Ministry’s introduction of the bivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine being administered to thousands of grade-seven students across the island. Mrs. Davis, who was first diagnosed with the cancer in 2009 at the age of 49, says the vaccine would have been useful in reducing her chances of getting the...

The Caribbean Poison Information Network (CarPIN) is reporting that Jamaican decorative paints have been found to be virtually lead-free. Speaking in an interview with JIS News, Poison Information Coordinator at CarPIN, Sherika Whitelocke-Ballingsingh, said that this was one of the findings of a recent Lead in Paint Study that was conducted by CarPIN in collaboration with international non-governmental organisation (NGO)...