Belize Moves Toward WHO Tobacco Standards

Health Minister Kevin Bernard is pushing for a big change in how Belize tackles smoking. He introduced a Tobacco Control Bill that could finally bring us in line with World Health Organization standards. The idea is to protect future generations from the dangers of tobacco and secondhand smoke. That means keeping public spaces smoke-free, making sure kids don’t get addicted, and giving people the information they need to make healthier choices. The bill also calls for plain packaging, strict advertising limits, and a national body to oversee tobacco control. Belize signed on to WHO’s framework way back in 2005, but nearly twenty years later, we still don’t have comprehensive smoke-free laws. So, why did it take so long to act?

 

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness

“It’s never too late to act, it’s never too late to bring a legislation that is critical. When you look at the region, for example, Jamaica, Guyana, Grenada, some of our Caribbean countries, including other countries in Central America that have introduced legislations to deal with tobacco control. Belize signed on to this, way back, I believe it’s early 2000s. So it’s high time that we address the issue because the FCTC which was signed on to from the very beginning, the treaty, we need to ensure that we put into place mechanisms and, in this case, the legislation. We are hoping that we can get the support of the general citizenry, I believe that from a society, we have to start to protect and prevent persons from having to die from the effects of smoking. And not just the smokers, but those who are affected by secondhand smoke, and I know that the industry people will say, “Oh, but then what about the business, what about… we have to put mechanisms in place. We’re not telling you… this bill is not about you have to stop smoking. It’s about controlling what we do and how it affects others. It’ s about protecting our citizens, it’s about protecting our future generations, protecting our young people.”