Tobacco.org

EDITORIAL: All-out war being waged on tobacco 

AT ALMOST the same time Barbadians were hearing that a project officer, Wayne Hunte, had been appointed through a grant from the Bloomberg Global Initiative in partnership with four non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to keep an eye on package warnings on tobacco products sold in CARICOM countries, the world was being told of an even . . .

It will be the job of Hunte to ensure tobacco products, particularly in Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, carry the appropriate warnings about tobacco being dangerous to health.

Four NGOs - the Heart Foundation of Jamaica, the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados, the Trinidad & Tobago Cancer Society and the Guyana Chest Society - are all partners in the Bloomberg-funded two-year project.

Hunte summed up his task as eventually getting the governments in targeted countries to speak with one voice about putting warnings on tobacco products.

It will be interesting to see if and how the Bloomberg-Gates anti-smoking campaign will reach us and how effective it might be.

A first step in this direction is to ban smoking in public places and calls have been growing for this throughout the world.

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EDITORIAL: Towards healthy lifestyles 

IT IS HEARTENING to note that thousands of medical practitioners, nutritionists and a wide range of other health care providers, including Barbadians, are swelling the ranks of lobbyists in favour of adopting healthy lifestyles.

Last Wednesday, it was reported that two Americans are combining to contribute at least US$500 million (BDS$1 billion) to developing countries in a global fight against tobacco-induced diseases.

This trend must also gladden the hearts of members of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados (HSFB), one of a group of regional non-governmental organisations (NGOs), whose campaigns on disease avoidance and treatment enjoy generous support from leading professionals. The news must also greatly encourage civic agencies in Barbados . . . .

Meanwhile, anti-tobacco campaigner, retired medical practitioner Dr Tony Gale successfully led a local campaign to cut consumption of that substance, even before larger countries in North America, Britain and Europe, were able to claim similar progress.

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Thousands up in smoke 

MORE THAN 3 000 BOXES of cigarettes are sold at some retail outlets monthly, despite the constant appeals to stop smoking given the dangers associated with the habit.

At one West Coast service station for example, management reported that 3 600 boxes of cigarettes - and sometimes more - were sold every month. . . .

This comes as chief executive officer of the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados, Adrian Randall, and president of the National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency, Victor Roach, called for a ban on smoking in all public places.

Last Saturday was World No Tobacco Day with the theme Tobacco And The Youth, with both Randall and Roach voicing concerns not just for the smokers but for those around them who do not.

Both organisations have been seeking to pressure Government to introduce legislation banning smoking in public.

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Campaign against Chronic Diseases Set for the Caribbean 

A major new campaign to fight chronic disease in the Caribbean is getting underway in an effort to stem "the worst epidemic of chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease in the Americas," with the participation of heads of government.

Government leaders want to work together to reduce risk factors such as obesity, unhealthy food choices, physical inactivity, high cholesterol and tobacco use, which contribute to making chronic diseases the leading causes of death in Caribbean countries, according to the Pan American Health Organization's Dr. James Hospedales.

PAHO and the Caribbean Community organized a historic summit, "Stemming the Tide of Non-communicable Diseases in the Caribbean, hosted by the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, the Hon. Patrick Manning, to launch the watershed regional campaign against chronic diseases. . . .

"That we are meeting as Heads of Government on this matter indicates the priority that CARICOM has placed on the topic," Prime Minister Manning said, noting that tobacco taxes were a good initial step but that a comprehensive public education program on lifestyle management, in partnership with the media, is also needed.

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Higher taxes for alcohol and tobacco  

Caribbean governments say they will increase taxes on tobacco and alcohol to cut the cost on their health budgets to treat diseases triggered by those products.

They also agreed at to limit or eliminate smoking in public places, ban the sale, advertising and promotion of tobacco products to children and insist on manufacturers putting effective warning labels on their products.

It's just one of the commitments given by regional leaders who attended the first Summit on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases which took place in Trinidad on Saturday September 15th.

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GALE: Protection against tobacco 

LEGISLATIVE MEASURES in Barbados for the prevention and elimination of the morbidity and mortality caused by the manufacture, supply and use of tobacco mandate the prohibition of tobacco use at the Cricket World Cup (CWC).

The Consumer Protection Act and the Consumer Guarantee Acts were enacted and proclaimed by the Government of Barbados in 2003, and the Minister of Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Business Development has declared that the most important of the benefits of consumer protection legislation are the following:

1. The Right to Safety - to be protected against the marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to health or life. . . .

This legislation makes it possible for the Government of Barbados to ban or order the withdrawal of all tobacco products on the grounds that they are lethal; and the fact that tobacco products have been declared by the WHO to be the only class of legal products which, when used in the way intended by manufacturers and suppliers, endanger or destroy the freedom and wreck the health of all habitual users, puts them in this category. . . .

The Government and people of Barbados now have the weapons and the ammunition to eradicate the use of a scourge that caused 100,000,000 deaths in the 20th century and if allowed to continue will cause 1000,000,000 more in the 21st century.

It is very likely that they will challenge the legitimacy of one of the richest and most influential multinational corporations in the world all the more so since 90 per cent of their staff are non-smokers, 80 per cent of their homes are smoke free and, since 1982 through voluntary agreements, the prohibition of smoking in workplaces has increased from 29 to 90 per cent.

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Anti-tobacco legislation must be followed by breathalyser testing legislation 

PRESIDENT of the National Council for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCPADD), Victor Roach, is pleased with Governments plan to bring anti-tobacco legislation to Parliament as early as next month.

In an interview with the Barbados Advocate, Roach said it was long overdue and represented a great step for Barbados, since it will spell for us a smoke-free Cricket World Cup, as the organisers have a stated policy to support the policies of host countries.

Nevertheless, Roach was concerned about the law specifying designated smoking areas in restaurants, because there were times when the smoke from the smokers section could infiltrate the non-smoking area, and it could also put staff, who have to serve smokers, at risk.

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• Anti-smoking advocates calling for smoking ban at cricket World Cup 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados A Barbadian health group is proposing that smoking be banned at all 12 venues for next year's cricket World Cup.

National Committee for Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency director Victor Roach said he's been lobbying tournament officials for more than a year for a complete smoking ban.

"It is clearly spelt out in the terms and conditions of that there will be designated smoking areas," Roach said Thursday. "(But) we are calling for the event to be totally smoke-free."

Advocates are also urging governments to enact legislation to prohibit smoking at the tournament. . . .

Nine countries -- Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana --will host the March 13-April 18 event.

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Stop smoking programme launched 

According to Winston Seale, an Orthopaedic Surgeon by profession at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and guest speaker at a recent session held by the Barbados Breathe Free Association, good things can happen when smokers stop smoking. Seale was speaking recently at the Opening Ceremony and Pre-Quitting Session of the Barbados Breathe Free Associations Stop Smoking Programme.

The programme, which will officially come into being on October 10, is being held in association with Sagicor Life Inc.

Seale told interested parties gathered at the Savannah Hotel in Hastings on Sunday, that there are 1.1 billion smokers in the world.

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Smokers to get the chance to Breathe Free  

SMOKERS can achieve better health and create a healthier environment for themselves and those around them through the Breathe Free Programme, which will be launched in Barbados with an opening ceremony on September 24 at the Savannah Hotel.

This session, being conducted by the Chief Medical Officer in St. Vincent, Dr. St. Claire Thomas, will be followed by the nine-day course beginning October 10. George Best, Realtor of Bendian Realty and Leader of the Health and Temperance committee at the SDA church on Government Hill, said that the reason why there is a time gap between the opening ceremony and the course is because they want to give persons time to go home and reflect on the information before joining.

The course is derived from the American programme and participants will go through physical, mental and social preparation in order to cease smoking.

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Tobacco Anonymous meetings to start in October 

Persons who are addicted to tobacco and are desirous of quitting will be able from next month to do so, with the help of a Tobacco Anonymous group.

The announcement was made by President of the National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCPADD), Victor Roach after a church service at the St. Dominics Catholic Church yesterday morning to commemorate the third anniversary of the Tobacco Free Cricket World Cup 2007 campaign.

On October 3 we will start a series which will be the basis of tobacco anonymous.

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Tobacco-free ambassadors identified 

The National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCPADD) has inducted three well-known Barbadians to assist the organisation with its campaign for a smoke-free Cricket World Cup next year.

President of the National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency, Victor Roach yesterday identified renowned surfer Brian Talma, teacher and dramatist, Carl Alff Padmore and boxer, Junior Greenidge to help champion the cause. Speaking at a church service at the St. Dominics Catholic Church yesterday morning to commemorate the third anniversary of the Tobacco Free Cricket World Cup 2007 campaign, he added that the three were chosen not only because of their positions in the community and their natural and outstanding talents, but because of their commitment to Barbados and helping the country to progress.

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Anti-smoking debate by Oct. 

BY OCTOBER, anti-smoking legislation should be brought before the House of Assembly for discussion.

Minister of Health Jerome Walcott made this disclosure last Thursday while speaking to members of the Press at Savannah Hotel, where the first meeting of the CARICOM/CWC 2007 Health Sector Sub-Committee was held.

"Anti-smoking legislation is before Chief Parliamentary Counsel Shirley Belle for fine tuning and this has to do with smoking in public places. Anti-smoking legislation has been talked about for some time and we have had discussions with the various stakeowners. The legislation is being finalised now," Walcott said.

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Push for smoking ban for tourney 

NEXT YEAR'S International Cricket Council's World Cup (CWC) could be "smoke-free" if the National Committee for Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCPADD) gets its wish.

The body, which is attached to the International Commission for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (ICPA), is hoping to convince the officials of the CWC that this would be a great idea.

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Non-smoking legislation could be passed by year end  

BARBADIANS could expect that legislation to prohibit smoking in public places to be passed by the end of the year.

At a media briefing yesterday morning at the Christ Church Parish Centre, President of the National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCPADD), Victor Roach said that he is expecting that the legislation will be passed very soon, bearing in mind that since 2000, there have been assurances from Government that there will be a ban in place.

Roach further said his organisation was in meetings with various stakeholders earlier this year over the matter and noted that Government was committed to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Speaking about the support for a smoke-free Cricket World Cup (CWC) next year, Roach indicated that the NCPADD, which is partnering with the Anglican Church and the Citizens Against Narcotics, is satisfied that there is support for the initiative.

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