Jump to full article: Trinidad Express (tt), 2009-11-20
Intro: It should have been a relatively simple piece of legislation-ban smoking in public places. But the Tobacco Bill, which was passed in the Senate on Tuesday night, became embroiled in heated debate, largely because the Government included provisions which were excessively punitive or which would have transgressed on the privacy of citizens.
But the way this debate was framed highlights a wider problem in respect to government's approach to health policy-to wit, the assumption that punishment is more effective than persuasion when it comes to combating lifestyle diseases.
Additionally, there is a predilection for using scare tactics which are not based on sound data. For example, claims were made that most smokers start smoking between the ages of 13 to 15-in fact, this is only the age when an individual might try his first cigarette, but experimentation does not in most cases lead to habit.
The public was also told that Trinidad and Tobago has 21 per cent of the region's smokers but, since we also have 21 per cent of the Anglophone Caribbean's population, all this figure means is that our smoking rate is the same as that of the other islands. . . .
Instead, policy messages which portray smoking as 'uncool' or as a profitable ploy by 'big business' tend to be more effective. Taxes which raise cigarette prices are also a good measure for reducing teenage smoking.
If, therefore, the Government really wants to improve the health of the populace, these are the kinds of strategies they should be using.
Jump to full article » |