Anti-smoking legislation coming by year end – Tufton - Minister concerned about high incidence of tobacco use among teens

WESTERN BUREAU:

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton says that by the end of this year, his ministry will be bringing forward legislation to clamp down on public smoking as reports have surfaced that approximately 15 per cent of high-school students are now using tobacco.

“We are coming, by the end of the year, with comprehensive legislation to address a number of areas that we think are important to further discouraging tobacco consumption. Things like advertising will be a big part in discouraging, eliminating, and discontinuing that practice,” said Tufton.

The minister made the announcement in Montego Bay last Friday after a ceremony in which the Green Pond Health Centre was officially adopted by the Atlanta Montego Bay Sister Cities Committee under the health ministry’s Adopt-a-Clinic Programme.

According to Tufton, much to his chagrin, reports have surfaced that some 15 per cent of students attending local high schools are using tobacco at what is a “fragile” stage of their lives.

“Our global school health survey suggests that approximately 15 per cent of our high-school population uses tobacco at some point in time. For us, that’s 15 per cent too many and, of course, at a time when these youngsters are developing. Their brains are still developing, and it is a very fragile time for them,” stated Tufton.

In June, the minister announced that the Ministry of Health and Wellness was working on the passage of the draft Tobacco Control Bill 2019, which would bring Jamaica into compliance with international obligations to protect its citizens from the negative health effects of tobacco.

GLOBALISATION OF TOBACCO

Since 2005, Jamaica has been a party to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which was developed in response to the globalisation of the tobacco epidemic.

Tufton also noted that the Ministry of Health is currently monitoring the health issues associated with the practice of vaping, which was advertised as a safe smoking alternative but has recently been linked to 14 deaths in the United States.

“We’ve been observing the information coming out of the United States, where vaping is now suspected for a number of deaths. I’ve asked the ministry’s chief medical officer to examine the reports coming out of those jurisdictions and to assess the clinical side of that information,” Tufton said.