JAMAICA has supported an updated strategy to accelerate action to meet targets of Tobacco Control in the Region of the Americas, while championing the need for a robust public education campaign to support implementation efforts.

“Jamaica wishes to reconfirm our unwavering commitment to achieving these targets and thanks PAHO for their continued leadership and technical support in advancing tobacco control in Jamaica,” Minister of Health & Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton told the 61st Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) Directing Council in Washington, DC where the updated strategy was presented, Thursday.

The minister is leading the Jamaica delegation, which includes Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, to the meeting.

“We are concerned about the slow progress of member states in making environments completely smoke-free, which requires further assessment to close this gap. Of significant concern to Jamaica is the use of e-cigarettes and vaping among children, adolescents, and young adults, along with the general use of cannabis and the proliferation of hookah bars. The regulation of e-cigarettes is a significant step that will address this concern,” Dr Tufton noted.

At the same time, he said it will be necessary to have an accompanying public education campaign, “especially to debunk the myths around e-cigarettes and the use of hookahs that they are safe alternatives to smoking and not harmful to health”.

“We should also ensure that the tobacco control response is integrated into the NCD (non-communicable disease) response,” the minister said.

Dr Tufton also explained that in the case of Jamaica, the existing Tobacco Control Regulations of 2013 reflect protection from exposure to tobacco smoke; regulation of tobacco product disclosures; and packaging and labelling of tobacco products.

Jamaica, he said, is also promulgating a new legislation which will include the regulation of the interactions of Government officials with the tobacco industry; testing and measurement of the contents and emissions of tobacco products; promotion of communication and public awareness of tobacco control issues and the health risks of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke.

Also covered, Dr Tufton said, is “full and mandatory prohibition on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, including a ban on point-of-sale tobacco displays, and increasing the size of the graphic health warning from 60 to 80 per cent of the principal display areas of tobacco products”.

Jamaica, Dr Tufton added, will also itself embark on a public education campaign to address these issues, support the enforcement of existing regulations, and garner support for the new legislation, Tobacco Control Bill 2020, “which will bring us into full compliance with our obligations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, in the upcoming months”.

“Jamaica remains committed to reducing mortality and morbidity from tobacco use and aims to leave no one behind,” he said.