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A ban on cigarette smoking will shortly be introduced within the entire designated area of Emancipation Square in Spanish Town, St. Catherine. The Square will be the first Smokefree Square in the Caribbean, when a declaration is officially unveiled in March. The initiative is a joint project of the Smoke Free Action Coalition in Spanish Town and the St. Catherine...

Executive Director of the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), Mr. Michael Tucker, says the agency has been successful in heightening awareness of the dangers of substance abuse, through its intervention programmes, which target children as young as five years old. "You have to start to give them the information and appropriate messages, about the negative consequences of substance abuse,...

Executive Director of the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), Mr. Michael Tucker, is contending that drug abuse must be treated as more than a health challenge, in order to prevent it from hindering Jamaica's growth and development as a nation. Speaking at a JIS 'Think Tank', at the Agency's Half-Way Tree Road head office, in St. Andrew, today (February...

A fundraising gospel concert will be held at the Mandeville Primary and Junior High School, to raise funds to assist a resident of the town who suffers from sickle cell anemia. The concert is scheduled for Sunday (February 14), and is in aid of 29-year-old Keino Ward, who suffers from sickle cell anemia and needs do hip surgery, urgently, to...

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, the Honourable Olivia Grange, MP has said that HIV/AIDS is a gender issue. Speaking in Parliament during the debate on the National HIV/AIDS Workplace policy, Minister Grange said: "It (HIV/AIDS) affects our women and our men, our young and our old; in essence it affects the very fabric of our family structure. In this...

Senator the Hon Arthur Williams, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, will meet with heads of unions/associations representing the Health Sector on Tuesday (February 9), to discuss the Industrial Disputes Tribunal's (IDT) ruling in the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) reclassification dispute, among other issues. The issue involves a claim on the Ministry of...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has appealed to Jamaican women to get tested for HIV, and to take more responsibility for their sexual behaviour by using a condom during sexual encounters. The call came as the nation observes Safer Sex Week, February 7-14, under the theme, "Smarter Women Always Buy, Carry and Use Condoms." Mr. Spencer said that the...

For a person who has been smoking for many years, sticking to a decision to quit is one of the most difficult undertakings he or she must endure. But, for those who succeed, the rewards can be great, particularly in the area of health, where quitting can save their lives. Before May 2008, Engineering Technician, 35 year-old David Reid* had...

Minister of Health, the Hon Rudyard Spencer, has congratulated the Registrar General's Department (RGD) on the commissioning of a voice over internet protocol (VOIP) telephony system, which makes available 110 new telephone lines for customers. "Today, the Registrar General's Department is pleased to inform the public that the new telephone system will be officially opened, and landline telephone service is...

The Southern Regional Health Foundation has established its St. Elizabeth Chapter, aimed at supporting and promoting development of public health services in the parish. At the launch held at the Ashton Great House, on Thursday, (January 28) in the parish, Custos of St. Elizabeth, Hon. Alfred Farquharson, said he was confident that individuals and groups will work with the Foundation...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, says the time has come for clinicians and academics across Jamaica and the Caribbean to partner with Governments to provide health care that reach more people at a lower cost. This, he said, as access to health care is a basic right. He was giving the main address at the official opening ceremony for...

Although it is still early days, many persons are already bemoaning what they see as the insufficient strides made towards achieving the resolutions they set at the start of the new year. High on this ambitious list for some, are wellness related goals. This according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is not just merely the absence of disease or...