Tobacco Control Group Pledges to Support Anti-Smoking Law

The Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control (JCTC) has pledged to support the Government’s efforts to curtail smoking in public places through anticipated passage of anti-tobacco legislation.

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, has committed to advancing anti-smoking legislation in keeping with Jamaica’s obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

“The Government’s passing of the law will protect the public health of the citizens,” said JCTC Project Manager, Barbara McGaw.

She told JIS News that the coalition will continue to work with civil society groups and other stakeholders in an effort to sensitise the Jamaican population about the harmful effects of smoking, and to garner support for the law, once passed.

The bill, which has been drafted, addresses the issue of smoking in public places and the health risk this poses to non-smokers.

“If you go to a sports bar, a stadium or a restaurant, you should not be exposed to someone else’s smoke,” Mrs. McGaw said, noting that secondhand smoke leads to the death of 3,000 Jamaicans each year.

The bill also provides for a total ban on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, prohibition of the sale of tobacco products to minors, and a clamp down on the illicit trading of tobacco products.

Meanwhile, the JCTC is pushing for graphic health warnings, such as pictures of smoking-related diseases to be put on cigarette packets. Mrs. McGaw said that many other countries use this method to encourage chronic smokers to quit and to prevent non-smokers from starting.

Formed in May 2002, the Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control is mandated to implement programmes that will enhance the public’s knowledge of the issues associated with tobacco smoking as well as to encourage deterrence.

By Toni-Ann Russell, JIS PRO