By Dr.D.A.Gale, Director, Tobacco Control Programme,
Barbados Cancer Society.
The Barbados Cancer Society [BCS] welcomes the ratification
of the FCTC by the Government of Barbados and believes that implementing the
measures mandated by this treaty with all deliberate speed should be the highest
priority of all governmental and non-governmental public health advocates. In
pursuit of this objective, therefore, it is inviting all Non-Governmental
Organizations [NGOs] who share our convictions to work with us to prepare and
present to our Government a Programme of Action for implementing these measures
within the next 12 months. We hope you will do so by sending us your comments
and criticisms of this policy statement which should include suggestions of
additions or amendments that could improve it.
By ratifying the FCTC the Government has set the stage for
preventing and eliminating all the diseases, disabilities and deaths caused by
tobacco. But, to coin a phrase used by Sir Winston Churchill, this will not be
the beginning of the end of the campaign to eradicate these disasters, but only
the end of the beginning.
Ratification of the FCTC by the Government of Barbados is
the continuation of a process initiated by the Barbados Cancer Society [BCS]
which started its Tobacco Control Programme in 1982. During the last 2 decades
the dramatic success of this programme in reducing tobacco consumption by about
56% has shown beyond the shadow of a doubt that accurate information and
systematic education that is consistent and continuous and which teaches
Barbadians to think critically can and has changed their beliefs and behavior so
profoundly that for the majority of them, i.e. at least 90%, tobacco smoking is
no longer socially acceptable, and they understand and fully accept all the
measures mandated by the FCTC to prevent and reduce to a minimum the morbidity
and mortality caused by tobacco consumption.
It should be obvious that the objective of the FCTC is to
prevent and eradicate tobacco related diseases and deaths, because the measures
mandated by this internationally binding treaty send the message that tobacco is
a lethal product, that the tobacco industry is an insupportable and unnecessary
economic burden, and that there can be no conceivable reason to justify its
legitimacy. This being so it is logical to expect that all countries which have
ratified this treaty should be fully committed to ratifying all these measures.
It is equally logical to expect that the Tobacco Industry will use all its power
and influence in the commercial and political world to oppose measures that
threaten their own viability, and it is inconceivable that they could be
stakeholders in the process implementing the measures designed to eliminate the
use of tobacco mandated by the FCTC.
Whenever the measures mandated by the FCTC are implemented
they will give practical expression to the wishes of more than 90% of the people
of Barbados where, according to surveys by PAHO, the Ministry of Health, UNICEF
and the BCS the prevalence of smoking [6% to 9% in adults and 2% or less in
Children and adolescents] is the lowest in the Americas, where by voluntary
agreements smoking is prohibited in 80% of homes and 85% to 90% of workplaces,
and where 90% of smokers accept without protest the prohibition of smoking in
public places and work places because they recognize that clean air is as
essential for health as clean food and drink, and that freedom to breathe clean
air is a basic inalienable human right.
These are some of the more important measures mandated by
the FCTC, many of which have already been adopted by countries and regions that
have been successful in reducing tobacco consumption e.g. Canada, Finland,
Norway, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and California. Equally interesting is
the fact that during the last twelve years all of these measures have been
recommended to successive governments by the Barbados Cancer Society.
Specific warnings in clear language and pictures of the
addictive nature of nicotine, the deadly poisons in tobacco and the diseases,
disabilities and deaths they cause, e.g:– “Tobacco kills 50% of habitual users
- 25% prematurely.”
“Tobacco is the commonest cause of Cancer, Heart Disease, Lung Disease and
Strokes, the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in all countries of the
world, including Barbados”.
Banning the promotion of tobacco through the prohibition of
advertising and sponsorship.
Banning the distribution of free samples of tobacco.
Banning the sale of duty free tobacco products.
Banning the sale of tobacco to persons under 18.
Banning tobacco vending machines.
Educational and legislative measures to protect minors from
the air pollution caused by tobacco smoking in the home and in public places.
Banning smoking in workplaces and public places.
Reversing the policy common in many countries of including
the price of tobacco in computing the cost of living index. Countries
ratifying this Treaty are not required by its terms to reverse this policy,
but it is recommended that they do so because by signifying that tobacco is an
essential human need it is in conflict with the intention and objectives of
the FCTC.
In countries where tobacco is cultivated, the removal of
subsidies to tobacco farmers and using the money saved to provide subsidies
for the production of food.
Legislation to eliminate all forms of illicit trade in
tobacco products, including smuggling, illicit manufacturing and
counterfeiting.
Steeply increasing the price of tobacco products and
indexing the increased revenue so obtained for the following purposes:
Public education in the Media about tobacco and the Tobacco
Industry.
Health education in schools, colleges and universities.#
The education of doctors, other health professionals and
teachers to become actively engaged in preventing and reducing tobacco
consumption by teaching their patients and students to think critically about
tobacco and the tobacco industry and strengthen their resistance to the
influence of the commercial and political interests who promote the use of
tobacco.
The promotion of health through the sponsorship of sports,
the arts and entertainment.
The cost of implementing these measures will be
insignificant compared to the cost of implementing other public health
programmes; e.g. programmes to combat substance abuse and the HIV epidemic, and
the funds available for doing so are readily available thanks to the generosity
of the European Union who have donated $20,000,000 to Barbados for improvement
of Public Health. The prospects for its success are excellent, and according to
expert advisers to the World Bank and economic surveys in many, if not all,
developed countries eliminating or reducing to minimum tobacco consumption would
benefit the economy of Barbados by at least $ 60,000,000 a year.
Whenever, therefore the Government implements the measures
mandated by the FCTC it will have the wholehearted support of the Barbadian
public, the majority of whom understand and fully accept the need for them.
