Belize Moving Toward Indoor Smoking Ban With PAHO Support

Health sector stakeholders gathered in Belize City today to discuss a regional effort to promote smoke-free indoor spaces. The initiative spearheaded by the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) brought participants together to discuss policies from across Latin America. The aim is to assist Belize and other countries in banning smoking in all indoor areas. Dr. Andrei Chell, Director of Policy, Planning, and Research for the Ministry of Health and Wellness, says that banning indoor smoking will help to address various health issues in the country.

Dr. Andrei Chell, Director of Policy, Planning and Research, Ministry of Health and Wellness: “We are partnering with PAHO/ WHO, to really learn of best practices that countries in the region have been taking in terms of tobacco control. We know that  non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of death in Belize and in countries of the region. And tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoking is actually one of the main causes of this, right, of this crisis.  So we are here to really discuss the way forward. Belize ratified the framework convention for tobacco control in 2005. So this really sets the policies in place that we as a country need to implement as we move forward with the whole idea of creating a smoke-free environment.”

Rosa Sandoval, Regional Advisor for Tobacco Control, PAHO/WHO, says that data exists from more than 20 countries in the region that shows the positive effects of banning indoor smoking. 

Rosa Sandoval, Advisor, Tobacco Control, PAHO/WHO: “Designated smoking areas don’t work. They don’t protect people from exposure to tobacco smoke. We need not to have designated areas. Smoking needs to be banned in all indoor places and workplaces. One main reason, there are many reasons, but one is to protect the health of workers. You cannot choose where to work. You need to go to work, so you need to be protected. If you’re exposed to tobacco smoke you can develop diseases. You can develop cancer, you can develop cardiovascular diseases, so you need to be protected. Now, the good news is that this is not a bad measure for businesses. On the contrary, as I said before, 24 countries have already implemented this measure. So we’ve been able to measure what happens to the income of businesses, of tourism. We measure in particular the impact on tourism in the Caribbean, which can be very relevant for you countries that really  have lots of  income from tourism. We found that the arrival of tourists did not change after smoke-free policies were implemented in Trinidad and Tobago, in Jamaica, in Barbados, et cetera. And on the contrary, you see an increase. We also measure what happened to the income of bars and restaurants in countries like Uruguay. Uruguay was the first country that implemented a smoke-free in 2005 and we saw that on the contrary it increased.  People, we need to remember that the majority of people do not smoke.”

The meeting was held at the Grand Resort. There will be a follow up session tomorrow with international partners.