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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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Hassell: Ban the smoking 

SMOKING, salt and soft drinks have come under serious scrutiny by the National Commission for Chronic Non Communicable Diseases, and chairman Professor Trevor Hassell wants authorities to do something about them.

He said Government should consider enacting a legislation to eliminate smoking in public places and a ban on the sale, advertising and promotion of tobacco products to minors, with insistence on effective warning labels on cigarette packages.

Addressing the Active Caribbean Workshop on Friday night, Hassell also suggested the articulation of a national policy on the consumption of salt

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Hunte: More women are lighting up 

ATHE TOBACCO CONTROL OFFICER of the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados is observing that more women are lighting up here in Barbados than ever before.

Although no new survey has been conducted, Wayne Hunte is questioning the reported ten per cent of the population said to smoke when, according to him, a lot more professional and non-professional women could be seen puffing.

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One step closer to less nicotine 

ANTI-SMOKING LEGISLATION could be passed in Barbados by the end of May.

Denise Carter-Taylor, Senior Health Promotion Officer of the Ministry of Health said that while officials had been working on legislation dealing with smoking in public places for over a decade, there now appears to be light at the end of the tunnel.

Speaking at a media training workshop on tobacco control held by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados at the University of the West Indies yesterday, Carter-Taylor said that the legislation has been drafted and presented to Cabinet.

"We hope that by World No-Tobacco Day at the end of May, it will be passed," said Carter-Taylor.

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CHANDLER: Smoking ban taking too long 

WHAT HAPPENED to the promised legislation to ban smoking in public places?

My own experience with smoking spanned over four decades and has resulted in severe health challenges which included coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema and hypoxia.

I would not want to see another person suffer the way I did, particularly from second-hand smoke exposure. So, when the announcement was made to ban smoking in public places, I felt pleased; it was talked about for years and now smoke-free environments are actually becoming a reality in Barbados. . . .

, 2009, the latest.

Have I missed something? We are already in February, and where is this promised piece of legislation? This legislation is long overdue and I can personally speak about this as I am aware of how second hand smoke can negatively affect a person's health.

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da Silva: Let's be tobacco-free 

FORMER DIPLOMAT Frank da Silva has urged greater consumer support for shops and other outlets that refuse to sell tobacco products.

He is also calling on Government to do more to help the island become "tobacco-free", with support for such actions as a ban on smoking in public places.

DaSilva, a former High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago, made the appeals yesterday during a workshop hosted by the Barbados Coalition for Tobacco Control and the International Commission for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency.

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da Silva: Ban smoking by Feb. 14 

AS AN ACT of love, Barbados should ban smoking in public by February 14, Valentine's Day.

Former High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago Frank da Silva made the suggestion yesterday, as he spoke at a Press briefing for CARICOM Drug Awareness Day, at the Insurance Corporation of Barbados, Perry Gap, Roebuck Street, St Michael.

da Silva, who now serves as a consultant to the National Committee on the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Dependency (NCPADD), applauded Minister of Health Donville Inniss for making a public statement on having the necessary legislation for the implementation of the banning of smoking in public in the first quarter of 2009.

However, he said the minister should speed up the process and have it done by Valentine's Day. . . .

He also recommended that all treatment relating to habitual tobacco use should be free to all Barbadians.

"The cost of the treatment to get off tobacco is too expensive and it would be a wise investment by a wise government to put these products on the drug formulary.

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SELMAN: What's up with the year-end smoking ban?  

Will the recent Cabinet reshuffle have any effect on Government's proposal to ban smoking in public places by year end?

That's the question some persons, including myself, would like answered. Now I don't believe in being hasty when it comes to certain matters, but with this issue, I beg to differ, since such a move in Barbados is long overdue. . . .

I had to pass through the City this week for an assignment and in passing through Swan Street, I had to duck and weave those with cigarettes and other narcotics. I even had to evade one man who was puffing smoke leisurely from his pipe, into the face of passers-by. For those trying their best to take care of their respiratory health, this presents a great headache. I also met a gentleman recently, who outlined to me that he had not had an asthma attack in 17 years, but had to seek treatment after being exposed to second hand smoke while on the job. His record years went up in smoke, literally. Isn't it time we do something about smoking in public places and fast? We can then talk about banning indiscriminate burning of refuse across the country, at a later date. I personally stand ready to lobby for such.

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Too many teens smoking 

SMOKING IS ON THE RISE in Barbados, particularly among young people - especially teenage girls.

A recent study by Dr Anthony Lewegaba of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, revealed that about 36 per cent of youth had tried smoking cigarettes.

That statistic, more than tripled the number of adult Barbadians who smoked, which was estimated at ten per cent.

Lewegaba divulged those figures yesterday at the official launch of the Barbados Coalition for Tobacco Control, at the Insurance Corporation of Barbados (ICB), Roebuck Street, St Michael.

Lewegaba, who is also one of the directors of the coalition, said it was one of the reasons the thrust of the campaign for a smoke-free Barbados should be geared towards young people.

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Progress made in tobacco control  

THE government continues to make significant progress in its efforts to provide legislation necessary to govern the control of tobacco smoking in public places.

This was the word coming from Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Martin Cox, as he spoke at the Science of Peace Lecture hosted by the University of the West Indies and the InterAmerican Heart Foundation at the Sherbourne Conference Centre recently.

He noted government was committed to tobacco control, as shown by its increase in taxes on such products by 100 per cent and the removal of duty-free concessions on these products at all ports of entry.

Delivering the lecture, Chancellor of the University of the West Indies and Director Emeritus of PAHO/WHO, Sir George Alleyne, stated Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs) were "assuming ever greater significance in our part of the world and the efforts to prevent and treat them constitutes one of the major development challenges of this century."

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EDITORIAL: No buts about anti-smoking drive success 

ALONG WITH A DRIVE to reduce smoking in public places, action has been stepped up to encourage people not to use tobacco. We have reached this stage after a long haul and much debate. Studies have been made all around with the findings often reflecting the stance taken by whoever was paying for it.

We are now at the point where it is accepted and settled that tobacco has harmful effects. But not to be deterred, cigarette manufacturers have been endeavouring to open up bigger markets in countries where health services might not be as sophisticated as in developed countries. What can be expected is that tobacco interests will not give up without a fight.

At the same time, while it is accepted that tobacco poses health hazards, no strident calls have been made for a drop or ban in its cultivation. The use of suasion and the imposition of higher or heavy taxes on the use of tobacco have been preferred.

Meanwhile, some heavy financial backing has been coming for the fight against tobacco use. Among them is the Bloomberg Global Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, . . .

There is a strong argument that it is appropriate for the state to take a stand against smoking, since health resources will be deployed on behalf of citizens whose health is impaired from smoking.

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• Smoking ban by January, says Estwick 

BY JANUARY 1 next year, it will be illegal to smoke in public places in Barbados.

And interestingly enough, a sweeping smoking ban of that nature already has the support of most Barbadians.

So said Dr David Estwick, Minister of Health, National Insurance and Social Security. He told Barbadians in New York on Sunday evening that "legislation banning smoking in public places will soon be on the statute books in Barbados" and that "the ministry is now awaiting completion of the legislative process in this regard".

Afterwards, the minister set a timetable of New Year's Day to have the legislation enacted and the smoking ban a fact of life.

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Roach for smoking ban 

THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency is satisfied the public of Barbados fully understands the health risks associated with smoking in public places.

That's why they are firmly behind an eventual ban on public smoking in Barbados.

And according to president of the organisation, Pastor Victor Roach, Barbados' eventual legislation against smoking in public places, which would make it the first country in the Caribbean to do so, should lead to similar changes across the region.

Roach's comments came after a Nation Publishing Company's unscientific survey showed that 73 per cent of Barbadians agreed smoking should be banned in public places, while 27 per cent were against it.

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Legislation to ban smoking in public places on the cards for year end 

The local Health Ministry remains committed to having sound legislation regarding smoking in public places. To this end, Barbadians can look forward to having comprehensive legislation banning tobacco smoking in all public places, in place by year end.

This assurance was given by Dr. Kenneth George, Senior Medical Health Officer with responsibility for chronic diseases, who made this announcement while delivering the keynote address at the Bloomberg Caribbean Project Launch, hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados, at The Main Guard, The Garrison recently.

?We realise that this process has been lengthy, but we are pleased to announce that a survey was recently completed on the behalf of the Ministry of Health, to examine public perceptions to new legislation prohibiting smoking in bars, restaurants and rum shops. The survey gave in-depth insight and it showed that Barbadians were well aware of the potential harmful effects of secondhand tobacco smoking and its effect on producing ill health?.

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Preventing increase in smoking is important 

Chief Executive Officer of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados, Adrian Randall, said advocates and the relevant authorities need to continue to push this mode of thinking, because unless we apply the various articles of the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, that number will increase. . . . We have no ban on smoking in public places, we have no ban on advertising cigarettes although there is a gentlemen's agreement in relation to advertising in the media and so it doesn't happen, but there is not any law to prevent it happening, he lamented.

Randall suggested that as other countries throughout the Caribbean start to bring such laws into being, Barbados needs to follow suit or we will run the risk of attracting more attention from the tobacco producers.

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