Come on TT, stop smoking

THE EDITOR: World No Tobacco Day is celebrated around the World every year on May 31 (yesterday). The member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes.

This year the theme was “Tobacco and Lung Health.” We in TT join with WHO member countries all over the world in highlighting the harmful effects of tobacco on lung health:

* Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer and worldwide is responsible for two-thirds of lung cancer deaths.

* Smoking is the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a problem that causes breathing to become painful and difficult.

* Young children are most affected by second-hand smoke and least able to avoid it.

* Smoking also worsens damage to the lungs caused by tuberculosis.

TT is a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This convention outlines the following:

1. Objective, guiding principles and general obligations.

2. Measures related to the reduction of demand for tobacco.

3. Measures relating to the reduction of the supply of tobacco.

4. Scientific and technical co-operation and communication of information.

5. Institutional arrangements and financial resources.

6. Settlement of disputes.

7. Development of the convention.

The Government of TT has already implemented several measures in the FCTC:

* The creation of smoke-free public places, work places and public transportation.

* Help for people who choose to quit.

* Implementation of plain packaging and/or prominent and graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging.

* Launching of effective anti-tobacco mass media campaigns.

* Enforcement of comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

* Increased taxes on tobacco products to make them less affordable.

The Tobacco Control Act Chapter 30.04 was implemented in 2009, amended in 2012 and updated December 31, 2015. A copy is available on www.legalaffairs.gov.tt from the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs.

There is a dedicated Tobacco Control Unit in the Ministry of Health. The Tobacco Control Act aims to “prevent tobacco use by children, regulate tobacco use by individuals, enhance public awareness of the hazards of tobacco use, and ensure that individuals are provided with information to make more fully informed decisions about using tobacco, to protect individuals from exposure to tobacco smoke; to prohibit and restrict promotional practices; to prevent smuggling of tobacco; to provide for regulation of tobacco products to mitigate against the harmful effects of tobacco; and to provide for other related matters.”

In men, bronchus and lung cancer in TT is second only to prostate cancer. In women it is number seven but growing in proportion.

If current trends continue, approximately one billion people will die during the 21st century because of tobacco use.

Come on TT, protect your lungs, protect your life. Stop smoking.

Dr VICTOR COOMBS

PRO, TT Non-Communicable

Disease ALLIANCE