Govt foreshadows new tobacco control law

Wed, Feb 25th 2015, 09:48 AM

Just ahead of the 10th anniversary of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the health minister has foreshadowed legislation to control the use of tobacco in The Bahamas. During debate on the mid-year budget statement, Dr. Perry Gomez informed members of the House of Assembly that a bill to control the use of tobacco had been developed by his ministry in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General and other government and non-government agencies.

"The substantive legal content of the bill is expressly codified in the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which was signed by The Bahamas on 29 June 2004 and ratified on November 3 2009," Gomez said. "The Bahamas has an obligation to comply with the treaty's provisions," he added.

The tobacco control measures under the FCTC -- and therefore those included in the legislation to come -- include price and tax policies, bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, packaging and labelling requirements, protection from exposure to second hand smoke, education and public awareness measures, regulation of tobacco product contents and disclosures, treatment for tobacco dependence and measures to combat illicit trade.

Gomez added that the treaty provides for international cooperation to support tobacco control - including scientific, technical and legal cooperation and information sharing. February 27, 2015 will make ten years since the WHO FCTC entered into force. After its adoption by the 56th World Health Assembly in May 2003, 168 States signed the WHO FCTC. At last count, there were 180 states party to the convention, with Zimbabwe being the most recent to bring it into force (March 4 2015)

Article 21 of the Convention calls upon parties to submit to the Conference of the Parties, through the Secretariat, periodic reports on implementation of the Convention. The Bahamas' latest report was submitted April 15 2014, and the state is due to report again in early 2016.

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