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CARICOM Ministers in Russia for health talks  

Two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministers of Health have travelled here to participate in three major global health events on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), as the region steps up its preparation for the UN High Level Meeting on Chronic Disease prevention later this year.

Dr Leslie Ramsammy of Guyana and Donville Innis of Barbados and regional officials are among the 100 Health Ministers and other government representatives who have gathered at the World Trade Centre in Moscow to participate in the staging of the first World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Forum titled 'Addressing the challenge of Non-Communicable Diseases'.

They attended Wednesday's launch of the first WHO Global Status Report on NCDs, as well as the staging of the first two-day Global Ministerial Conference on Healthy Lifestyles and Non-Communicable Disease Control, which opened yesterday morning. . . .

A CARICOM statement said that those recommendations are in sync with the regional body's advocacy against NCDs and are implicit in the 15-point actions of the Port-of-Spain Declaration - Uniting to Stop Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases - to which CARICOM Heads of Government had committed since September 15, 2007 and which is now being implemented in the Caribbean.

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Anti-smoking thrust 

The Ministry of Health, in association with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), is taking further steps to stamp out the prevalence of tobacco consumption in Barbados. Hence the ongoing three-day Train-the-Trainer Workshop for Primary Health Care Providers in Tobacco Cessation, being held at the PAHO Office.

Delivering opening remarks for Day One of the Workshop yesterday was representative from the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ingrid Cumberbatch, Senior Medical Officer in Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases. Cumberbatch spoke of the timeliness of the workshop - coming on the heels of last year's smoking ban - adding that the training of primary health care providers is key to addressing the tobacco epidemic.

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No tobacco for under 18s  

Do not sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18.

This is the strong message Brydens Barbarees Limited is sending to all of their retail outlets across Barbados during today's re-launching of the company's Youth Smoking Prevention Programme (YSP) at Mike's Mini Marts on Christ Church.

Chief Executive Officer Ricky Nurse said that as leading distributors of tobacco products in Barbados, while youth smoking was a complex issue, his company was of the view that the "application of effective stakeholder engagement, harnessing the expertise and understanding of all interested parties, we are on our way to ensuring a [YSP] programme that is credible, accepted and successful."

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Health Official: Electronic Cigarettes Not Proven To Be Safe 

The Health Ministry has advised that the e-cigarette had not been tested to determine its long-term effects, and is therefore not recommending it as a replacement or additional smoking device, nor as a tool to stop smoking.

Recently, acting Senior Medical Officer of Health (Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases), Dr. Leslie Rollock, pointed out that the e-cigarette, on which a smoker puffs to release a vapour of stored liquid nicotine and other substances, like propylene glycol, had not been sufficiently tested to determine its effects.

The health official noted that though the amounts of these contents in e-cigarettes was small, they had not been tested on large enough groups of people to determine if exposure would have second-hand or an individual effect on a smoker. . . .

"We don't know enough about them - their long term effects, their effects on children and in enclosed places. So far, in Barbados, there is no legal instrument to say that they cannot be used, but based on the lack of proof that they are safe, we would advise persons not to use them," Dr. Rollock advised.

Barbadians are, therefore, urged to become more informed about the e-cigarette, which has already been banned in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Panama, Singapore, and the State of Oregon (USA), while some European countries currently have it under review.

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Barbados: No Smoking Legislation In Keeping With Health Preventative Strategy 

Barbados Oct 1 enacted legislation banning the smoking of tobacco in public places in accordance with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Minister of Health, Donville Inniss, signalled his Government's commitment to this by posting a "No Smoking Permitted" sign on the Frank Walcott Building at Culloden Road, where his Ministry is headquartered.

"It is very much in keeping with the Ministry of Health's Preventative Strategy we are focusing on these days," Mr. Inniss said. He noted, however, that there was a lot more Barbadians could do to better manage their health challenges.

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• Burning desire  

“We welcome the measure, but it is too little too late,” says Dr Tony Gale, reacting to Government’s recently announced ban on smoking in public places.

The 87-year-old retired general practitioner directed the Barbados Cancer Society’s tobacco programme from 1985 until 2008 when he resigned due to advancing age.

In an interview with the Sunday Sun, Gale expressed the view that Government had been too slow in implementing the measures for tobacco eradication set out in the Framework Convention On Tobacco Control, which he said Government had signed and ratified in 2005.

He explained: “The Framework Convention On Tobacco Control, an international treaty signed by 168 member countries of the World Health Organisation (WHO), had similar objectives to our [Barbados Cancer Society’s] programme. Virtually all the measures recommended by the Barbados Cancer Society to the Government since 1985 are almost identical to the measures recommended by the Framework Convention.

“There are about 12 measures that have been mandated by the treaty, but they have only implemented two measures. The first was to prohibit the sale of tobacco to minors and this latest measure, banning of smoking in public places.

“If it takes ten years to introduce two measures, by my reckoning it will be 20 years to implement the other ten, and signing the treaty would have had no effect at all,” Gale argued.

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Cops not on smoking beat  

Ministry of Health officials say it’s not police officers who will be enforcing a planned October 1 ban on smoking in public places.

Public health officers, who routinely check business places to ensure they conform to the national health regulations, are among those who will enforce the no-smoking laws. Environmental health officers and building officers in the Environmental Protection Division Health will also be involved.

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Ban on public smoking coming 

Smoking in public places in Barbados will be outlawed from October 1. This was announced last week by Minister of Health Donville Inniss, who said the ban comes with stiff fines for both smokers and businesses that refuse to comply. It covers rum-shops, bars, restaurants, hotels and Government buildings as well as libraries and museums. Dr Tony Gale (caught here by Kenmore Bynoe during the announcement last Thursday at the Accra Beach Hotel), who spearheaded the fight against tobacco smoke for many years, complained that the ban was a case of too little, too late.

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• Cigarette wholesaler supports smoking ban  

It may be the largest wholesaler of cigarettes in Barbados, but Brydens Barbarees Limited is giving its support to legislation that will restrict smoking in indoor public places from October 1st.

It gave its backing in a statement, issued over the weekend, but stressed the need to consider the rights of both smokers and non-smokers.

The Brydens' statement said the company acknowledges that smoke-filled environments can be uncomfortable and a reason for concern for some people, but said it also recognises the rights of smokers and stressed that any regulatory initiative must take into consideration the legitimate interests of both groups.

"We do not believe that people should be allowed to smoke anywhere. However, appropriate areas should be made available so that smokers - whether citizens or tourists - do not experience social exclusion," it said. "Therefore, we hope rum shop smoking patrons maintain their right to smoke outside these venues."

The company said that smokers in outdoor areas - like pool decks, beachers, etc - are not penalised for smoking, since total smoking bans in outdoor areas have a substantial negative impact on the income of certain sectors of the hospitality industry.

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Bajans react to Smoking Ban  

Barbadians are reacting to the smoking ban which will take effect from October 1. Some are behind Government's proposed ban while others feel it is their right to smoke anywhere. And, there are those who believe that with the new law Government should provide specially designated smoking areas. Some spoke out during a visit earlier during a visit to some local rums. Shop owner Glendene Gollop says she knew when the time came she would be affected, but she "wouldn't be getting in trouble for anybody". Mahogany Restaurant over at Culloden Road, was the only shop which had a No-Smoking sign displayed.

Owner Eunice Campbell says the rule had been in place over two years now. "Most of my customers here suffer with sinus problems so we stopped it every since.

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• No smoking in public soon 

A ban on smoking in public in Barbados takes effect on October 1st, with fines and imprisonment chosen as punishment for illegal smokers. Proprietors of buildings who allow people to smoke won't be getting off the hook, either, because they too will be prosecuted.

The announcement came yesterday from the country's Health Minister, Donville Inniss, who said that the anti-smoking legislation that will give teeth to the ban has been approved by Cabinet and will be taken to parliament soon, as the government seeks to protect citizens from the harmful effects of second-hand tobacco smoke. . . .

Senior Medical Officer with responsibility for Chronic Diseases, Dr Kenneth George, added that neither the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control nor the anti-smoking legislation makes provisions for any designated areas for smokers.

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Pirates burning tobacco business 

The Trinidad-based Carisma Marketing Services Limited, representatives of the British American Tobacco Company (BAT), said illegal trading, coupled with increasing excise duties, had contributed mainly to an approximate 40 per cent decline in the local market.

Executive manager Roger Montero said the company had identified a number of countries that were being used to sneak cigarettes into Barbados and had shared that information with the Customs Department.

"We have identified the source of the contraband and the counterfeit as well. We have contraband (cigarettes) coming in from St Maarten, Guyana, St Lucia, and we have counterfeit coming in from West Africa," he told the WEEKEND NATION yesterday.

Montero noted there were manufacturers in West Africa who were making counterfeit cigarettes, particularly the popular Embassy brand, and shipping the items to the Caribbean.

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RILEY-THORNHILL: What is causing the delay?  

What is causing the hold up with the legislation to ban smoking in public places in this country?

That is the question being asked by many Barbadians who support that cause, especially given the many promises to do so and even more since the Senate debated and passed yesterday an amendment to the Health Services Act to prevent the sale of tobacco to minors. However, there still has been no concrete position taken on the matter of smoking in public places by the powers that be and I am hoping it is only a matter of time now before steps are taken to bring it to fruition.

It is time that we have a smoke-free society, we deserve it, don't you think? . . .

We have heard that there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel and while that may very well be true given the amendment to the Health Services Act, it has really been too long in coming. I hardly think that there are any right thinking Barbadians that would oppose Government if they chose to ban smoking in public places, even though that includes the bars and rum shops that have become ever so much a part of our landscape. I think that once you appeal to a person's humane side and show them not only the effects to them, but the possible negative effects to others, that they would not be able to oppose good sense. The same applies to the introduction of breathalyser testing, but that is a topic for another day.

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No cigarettes for minors  

Soon it will be against the law for minors to buy cigarettes or other tobacco products.

ON Tuesday the Senate debated the Health Services Amendment Bill 2009, which once passed, will prevent the sale of tobacco to children 18 years and under.

Moving the Bill in the Upper Chamber, Leader of Government Business, Senator Maxine McClean explained that the measure aims to protect young people from becoming addicted to smoking.

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• Barbados to host meeting on tobacco surveillance and policy development  

Over 50 delegates from across the region are expected to converge in Barbados for the Caribbean Sub-regional Meeting on Tobacco Surveillance and Policy Development, slated for November 16 to 20.

The meeting, a collaborative effort among the Pan-American Health Organisation - Office of Caribbean Program Coordination and the Tobacco Control Team Washington DC; the Office of Smoking and Health - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention USA; and Barbados' Health Ministry, will look at the implementation of Articles 5.3 and 13 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Article 5.3 of the FCTC addresses "Protection of Policies from Commercial and Other Vested Interests of the Tobacco Industry", while Article 13 examines "Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship".

The forum will also assess the use of tobacco surveillance data for the development of effective and evidence-based tobacco control policies.

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