Tobacco.org

• 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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• 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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• 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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• Tobacco Conspiracy? 

British American Tobacco (BAT) has been accused by the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) of hiring scientists throughout the Caribbean and Latin America to deceive the public about the link between second-hand smoke and lung cancer and other diseases. . .

When contacted by the Barbados Advocate, BAT referred this newspaper to its web site which stated that it has not been established that exposure to ETS genuinely increases the risk of non-smokers developing lung cancer, heart disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Still, the company stated that it wanted to work with Government and other interested parties to support initiatives that aim to reduce exposure to ETS. . .

One of the other findings of the report was that BAT proposed seminars and individual journalist briefings in the English-speaking Caribbean, including Barbados, with the goal of tilting journalists' opinion in favour of the industry. . .

Research by this newspaper revealed that BAT came under fire during that last media forum in 2000

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