Louisa Malcolm has a smoke along March Pen Road in Spanish Town. New legislation could outlaw smoking in public places and spaces later this year. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

The Ministry of Health is ratcheting up pressure on organisations to ban smoking in public spaces and will be lobbying for the enactment of comprehensive legislation during the first quarter of the new fiscal year.

Eva Lewis-Fuller, director of health promotion and protection at the Ministry of Health, said limiting smoking privileges in both public and private business places would help protect non-smokers from second- and third-hand effects.

"Cabinet has considered it and agreed in principle for the law to be imposed. However, additional work needs to be done, such as getting responses from other agencies and analysis of the economic impact it would bring," Lewis-Fuller told The Gleaner.

Health implications

Though there is no anti-smoking ban on the books in Jamaica, Lewis-Fuller said restrictions were in place in some government buildings, including health ministry facilities.

"We brought the initiative to other government entities, but not all accepted it, because it's based on the administration of the organisation," she said.

"Smoking can cause a lot of health implications and so with the help of various organisations, we stand to protect the nation," Lewis-Fuller added.

Some of the main smoking-related medical complications are lung cancer, asthma irritation, and increased risk of heart disease. Based on studies, 80 to 90 per cent of lung cancer and 30 per cent of heart disease cases have been linked to smoking.

Tough stances

Internationally, more doors have been closing on persons who want to light up, as governments have taken tough stances to dictate smoking behaviour, even inside private enterprises. An increasing number of countries have made it illegal to smoke in enclosed public spaces. Among these are the United Kingdom, India, Australia and Canada, which passed legislation in 2007.

In recent years, various anti-smoking lobbyists have put pressure on the Jamaican Government to snuff out the practice in public places. So far, the campaigners have gained some concessions, such as increased taxation on tobacco products, more health education programmes and labelling of tobacco products with larger warnings.

Ellen Campbell Grizzle, director of information and research at the National Council on Drug Abuse, stated that the initiative would promote healthier lifestyles across the island, adding that tobacco was a gateway drug that led to addiction to other types of substances.

"Persons will struggle to adhere, as they are addicted to the second most-abused substance in the country, but it will improve over time," Grizzle stated.

Positive move

In the meantime, Paul Scott, pulmonologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies, advised that enforcing a law against smoking in public spaces would be a positive move in decreasing the risk of health conditions associated with the habit.

"Smoking has a lot of disadvantages and it's dangerous, even when you only inhale it, so banning it from these areas would be necessary," argued Scott.

He further stated that smoking has been the biggest cause of lung cancer.

"A vast majority of lung cancer cases are as a result of smoking so the law would be a preventative method," said the lung specialist.

nadisha.hunter@gleanerjm.com

Lewis-Fuller