Tobacco Bill Targets Advertising and Youth Access

Belize is preparing to tighten controls on tobacco, but health officials say the campaign is about more than telling smokers where they cannot light up. As the long-awaited Tobacco Control Bill heads to the Senate, approximately one hundred frontline healthcare workers are being trained to help Belizeans overcome nicotine addiction. The proposed law would restrict advertising, strengthen packaging requirements, limit youth access and create more smoke-free public spaces. But some smokers are questioning how the changes could affect businesses that depend on their support. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

For longtime smoker Nancy Nye, banning smoking in public establishments could change more than where she lights up. She believes it could also change where smokers choose to spend their money.

 

Nancy Nye, Smoker
“When you can buy a case of beer for and drink it at home, and that’s a two four, they went to the thirty-six. Oh, okay. And instead of paying six dollars a bottle at the bar, but you can’t smoke. No, you’re gonna stay at home.”

 

But health officials say the cost of tobacco use extends far beyond the smoker’s wallet. Smoking kills more than seven million people worldwide each year, making tobacco use one of the leading causes of preventable death. Belize is now moving closer to adopting sweeping legislation aimed at reducing that toll. Belize wants tougher rules on tobacco and nicotine products. The proposed law would restrict sales, advertising and packaging and offer greater protection from secondhand smoke. WHO expert Dr. Dongbo Fu says tobacco use across the region remains alarmingly high.

 

Dr. Dongbo Fu, Tobacco Cessation Expert, World Health Organization
“For this region, I think it’s more like stacked. It’s not big change. It’s roughly around like twenty percent of people are using tobacco in the region. That’s the reason why we need to strengthen our efforts to continue support the government putting in place tobacco control efforts.”

 

 

The bill would bring Belize’s laws in line with the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a global treaty aimed at reducing tobacco consumption. It has already cleared the House of Representatives and is awaiting debate in the Senate.

 

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness (File: October 17th, 2025)
“I rise to introduce a bill for an act to provide for the adoption and the implementation of the tobacco control policies in accordance with the World Health Organization’s framework convention on tobacco control which aims to protect present and future generations from the devastating harms of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke, to prevent tobacco use by children, to protect workers and the public from exposure to tobacco smoke, to enhance public awareness of the hazards of tobacco use and exposure.”

 

If enacted, the bill would restrict tobacco advertising, introduce stronger packaging requirements, limit young people’s access to tobacco products and expand smoke-free public spaces. The bill would also help smokers quit. But longtime smoker Nancy Nye worries the restrictions could hurt bars and restaurants. She recalls one business that reversed its smoking ban after customers stopped coming.

 

Nancy Nye
“This restaurant that had banned smoking because the non-smokers were picketing them. So they did that, lost all their regulars. And they said none of the non-smokers came in and supported them, so they brought it back because the government’s never banned it. So they got all their regular customers back and made money. They couldn’t, they couldn’t afford to lose them. Right, exactly.”

 

Health officials are training about one hundred frontline workers to help smokers quit. They will develop quit plans and connect patients with counselling, mental health care and medication. It is the first nationwide initiative of its kind in Belize. Esner Vellos, Director of the National Drug Abuse Control Council, says the goal is to provide comprehensive support through the public health system.

 

Esner Vellos, Director, National Drug Abuse Control Council
“We provide them with different tools that they may need so that they will be able to do assessments, and followed by those assessments for them to be able to be referred to officers within the public health system that would be able to offer them, for example, mental health services through the outreach case workers of the National Drug Abuse Control Council who would be able to be doing follow-ups with them, as well as to medical practitioners who would be able to provide them with quitting medication. The service would be an inclusive, comprehensive service that is provided to all Belizeans.”

 

Health professionals warn that tobacco does not only damage the lungs. It also contributes to cancer and cardiovascular disease, two leading causes of death in Belize. Dr. Marvin Arthurs says the effects can stretch from chronic illness and hypertension to household finances and family life.

 

Dr. Marvin Arthurs, Medical Officer at Central Health Region
“Sometimes would see weight loss, but sometimes it’s not just the physical symptoms that we see, but we would see it affecting family dynamics as well, and that also impacts health because truth be told, cigarettes cost money, and, you know, less spending money on cigarettes meaning less money going into the home, and this causes less money spent on medication and services.”

 

The Tobacco Control Bill heads to the Senate soon. It promises tougher smoking rules and stronger support for Belizeans ready to quit. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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