Anti-smoking advocate welcomes ban

Barbados needs to do a lot more to help non-smokers than banning “lighting up” in public places, according to anti-smoking advocate Dr Tony Gale.Gale, who for many years spearheaded the fight against tobacco smoke, complained yesterday that Barbados was moving too slowly in its crackdown on tobacco smoking, after signing the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004 and ratifying it the following year.He said he welcomed the October 1 smoking ban in public places announced by Minister of Health Donville Inniss yesterday but charged that it might be a case of “too little too late”.According to Gale, the FCTC contained at least ten measures for member countries to implement but little had been done by Barbados to meet obligations under the “legally binding” pact.At the current pace of implementation, Barbados could take 25 to 30 years for the ratification of the convention “to have any significant effect”, he argued.Inniss, who hailed Gale for his many years of spearheading the anti-tobacco lobby, said his Government had been in power only a few years and was building on any achievements made in health.He pointed out that the fight to reduce tobacco smoking had to be a national programme, embracing all sectors of the society.Inniss announced the ban during a breakfast briefing session hosted by the Ministry of Health at Accra Beach Hotel & Resort in Christ Church.The meeting was attended by leaders of the media and senior officers from the Ministry of Health, as well as from several businesses, including the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association and the Barbados Workers’ Union.