Amendments to anti- smoking law to be ready soon
Work on the amendments to be made to the Public Health Tobacco Regulations Act that was implemented on July 15 this year is expected to conclude within the next ‘ three to four weeks’. That’s the word from Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson recently after he declared open the 35th staging of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica Run for your Heart fundraising drive set for November 24 at the Stadium East field. The event was held at Emancipation Park on Knutsford Boulevard.
The money raised from this year’s event is to go towards the foundation’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Centre and to purchase medical supplies and equipment which will enable it to continue to offer its invaluable services at subsidised rates.
‘ BETTER ENFORCEABLE’
Dr Ferguson, who said his vision is that by 2030 Jamaica should be a developed state and the health hub of the Caribbean, told The Gleaner after his participation in the proceedings that the amendments coming will make the act ‘ better enforceable’ as he seeks to ensure that Jamaicans are protected from the ravages of tobacco use. “The power of the regulation lies with Section 14 of the Public Health Act. It is ministerial power. What I am doing is an accommodation to make the thing better enforceable, yielding in areas that could impact on tourism without impacting on the health objectives of the regulations, and so it is not something that is going to rewrite the regulations,” he said. “We’re going to be looking at the fines, we’re removing custodial sentence; we’re going to be looking at homes, one- stick labelling, and that kind of thing.”
PUBLIC EDUCATION
The minister said the main objective is to have a workable regulation. “If you’re going to get in a person’s home, do you need a search warrant. So the question of enforceability becomes critical in that process. But I want to make it very clear that public education is going to be massive relative to homes because remember, now, you have your children, you have your family, you have your helper, you have your gardener, and the helper and gardener are no lesser workers than the person in the hotel industry or in Government,” he said.
The 3500- strong Household Helpers Association, he said, has written to him on the matter and he can’t just ignore their concerns.
Meanwhile, Dr Ferguson hailed the organisers of the Run for your Heart for their commitment and dedication to the fight against heart disease and the attendant risk factors – physical inactivity, alcohol abuse, tobacco use, and poor eating habits.
The Heart Foundation hopes to raise $ 5 million from this year’s event that is sponsored by the Wisynco Group through their Welch’s Grape Juice and WATA.