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‘Grow Food, Not Tobacco’: Regional public health agency advises against tobacco cultivation on World No Tobacco Day

Posted: Tuesday, May 30, 2023. 1:44 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: Tomorrow, Wednesday, is World No Tobacco Day and in advance the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is endorsing the ‘Grow Food, Not Tobacco’ campaign to ending tobacco cultivation in favour of more sustainable crops to improve food security and nutrition.

CARPHA warned in a statement that “Tobacco use remains a major public health concern in the Caribbean region. There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. The use of tobacco products in any form harms nearly every organ of the body, irrespective of whether it is smoked, smokeless, or electronic.” Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use in the region, but it is also the top risk factor for lung cancer, while second-hand smoke has proven just as deadly.

In the Caribbean, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death and disability – 76.8% of the total deaths (non-Latin Caribbean, excluding Haiti) were due to NCDs in 2016. Cardiovascular diseases 30.8% and cancer 17.2% are the leading causes of death due to NCD, both linked to tobacco use. Many of these persons die in the prime of their lives before the age of 70 years old. The prevalence of smokers for overall tobacco products ranged from 57.2% prevalence (95%CI 48.4 to 65.4%) to 16.2% (95%CI 11.2 to 23.0%). According to the Report on Tobacco Control in the Region of the Americas (2018) Caribbean countries have the highest levels of tobacco experimentation before the age of 10.

Dr Joy St. John, Executive Director at CARPHA explains, “Smokeless does not mean harmless. Nicotine in e-cigarettes is a highly addictive drug and can damage children’s developing brains. Children and adolescents who use e-cigarettes at least double their chance of smoking cigarettes later in life. Preventing tobacco product use among youth is therefore critical. It is important that we educate children and adolescents about the harms of nicotine and tobacco product use. We must work to prevent future generations from seeing such products as “normal”.”

In 2008, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) endorsed the recommendation to ban smoking in public spaces. Later, in 2012, CARICOM regulated a standard for labelling retail packages of tobacco products with health warnings. Caribbean civil society organizations, working in collaboration with local governments and international partners, have led the charge in fighting for significant gains in tobacco control in the Caribbean region.

CARPHA urges Member States to work together to prevent and reduce the use of all forms of tobacco products, and scale-up efforts to implement their commitments under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). By doing so, the negative impact of smoking and its consequences on the health of our people, especially the younger generation, and the tremendous burden on the economies of the countries in our region, will greatly be reduced.

 

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