Belize Cancer Society Launches New Push Against Tobacco Use

The Belize Cancer Society has joined forces with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to strengthen efforts to reduce tobacco use and protect Belizeans from tobacco-related illnesses.

Through the partnership, the two organizations will increase public awareness, work directly with communities and advocate for stronger policies aimed at reducing the use of and exposure to tobacco products.  Tobacco use is a major risk factor for several types of cancer, as well as heart and respiratory diseases. The campaign will place particular emphasis on preventing young people from using tobacco and empowering them to promote tobacco-free lifestyles in their schools, families and communities.  President of the Belize Cancer Society, Kim Simplis Barrow, explains why the partnership and its focus on young people are important.

Kim Simplis Barrow, President, Belize Cancer Society: “This is really a major step for Belize and in terms of tobacco control. We are Belize Cancer Society is a proud recipient of a grant from a campaign for tobacco-free kids and it really will help us with our engagement in terms of tobacco control in our country. The great thing about it is at the heart of this campaign is youth, our young people, really in terms of preventing them from the use of tobacco and nicotine products. The campaign will really, we’re doing our strategic planning right now and it is we have a number of young people in the room who will be guiding this campaign. So at the end of the session we will know what this campaign will look like because it will be the strategic planning is youth engagement for them to give us the direction in which they would want to see what Belize did they envision in terms of a smoke-free Belize. Prevention is one of the main pillars of the Belize Cancer Society and it is a major objective of ours over the next few years that we will be focusing on. As we know tobacco is one of the main cause of cancer in the world and so for us this really aligns squarely with the work that we do at the Belize Cancer Society.”

The partnership will also support local research into the health, social and economic effects of tobacco use. That information is expected to guide public education and the push for stronger tobacco-control measures in Belize.  The Belize Cancer Society says the initiative supports its wider work to reduce the impact of cancer through prevention, education, patient support and advocacy. It is encouraging schools, parents, community organizations, policymakers and the wider public to support the movement for a tobacco-free Belize.