Jamaica Laws Coming To Deal With Tobacco
 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – A four-day workshop on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has started in Jamaica with that country’s Government indicating it remains committed to enacting legislation to combat the use and consequences of tobacco products.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sheila Campbell-Forrester, deputizing for Health and Environment Minister Rudyard Spencer, said the Bruce Golding administration would be taking legislation to Parliament to reflect the FCTC.

She said the measures would include a total ban on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion of all forms; the creation of smoke-free environments in all enclosed spaces; as well as the prohibition of the sale of tobacco products to minors. The matter of illicit trade of tobacco products and other related areas will also be addressed in the legislation.

Dr. Campbell-Forrester said that although the legislation is yet to be finalized the Government of Jamaica is serious about tobacco control, as demonstrated by the recent increase in taxation. 

"The last increase was in April this year when a raise was announced to yield projected revenue of J$2.88 billion (US$27.5 million) per annum. A significant proportion of this will be channelled into the National Health Fund (NHF) to be used for health promotion purposes,” she said.

The Chief Medical Officer said that in the Caribbean it is thought that tobacco usage is not a major problem, but "this is only because of the deceptive nature of the effects of tobacco use with its long latency period between usage and the manifestation of disease”.

"As the figures have shown, we are facing a situation that is of epidemic proportions and the onus is on us to prevent further devastating effects on society. More and more persons are dying from both direct usage of tobacco as well as the second-hand effects of its use. 

"More and more young people are smoking and there is an increase of smoking among young girls even though we have added taxation to cigarettes," Dr. Campbell-Forrester said.

She said that according to the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), a study carried out in Latin America and the Caribbean, indicated that consumption of tobacco last month among adolescents 13 to 17 years old ranged between 2.2 percent and 38.7 per cent.

"This is indeed frightening. It means that we have not yet been able to reach our young people, where it matters most, in preventing the start of tobacco use," she said.

The workshop, which ended last Friday, is being held in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) Convention Secretariat, the Canadian Lung Association (CLA) and Health Canada and PAHO. It aims to build national capacity among Caribbean countries for the successful implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The main focus will be on packaging and labelling of tobacco products, smoke-free environments and protection from second-hand smoke, price and tax measures to reduce demand, as well as elimination of illicit trade in tobacco products.

 

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