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Smokers beware!

Written by Cherelle Jackson
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Gatoloaifaana Amataga Gidlow, Minister of Health was admirable in her presentation of the Bill to Parliament last week. Tobacco use to be controlled in Samoa Minister pushes for Tobacco Control Bill The Minister of Health, Hon. Gatoloaifaana Amataga Gidlow last week stood on sensitive grounds in Parliament. The Minister submitted the Tobacco Control Bill 2008 to Parliament for its second reading carefully outlining the reasons why Samoa should not hesitate in adopting the legislation. “What is sad is that not only smokers are affected by the use of cigarettes, it also impacts on those who do not smoke, the second hand smokers or passive smokers,” Gatoloaifaana said. “This is an issue for great concern and it needs the support of our Parliament and the country as a whole. This Bill will ensure the protection of our people from the harmful effects of cigarettes,” she said. According to the bill read by Gatoloaifaana, there are four main parts to the proposed legislation. They include the prevention of premature death due to use of tobacco and the impacts of smoking, the protection of those who do not smoke from second hand smoking, a control of marketing, exportation and sale of tobacco in Samoa and the last part is the monitoring and control of manufacturing of each tobacco stick to ensure that it complies with international regulations on addictive chemicals comprised in each stick. ways. “This legislation should ensure smoke free environments to protect non smokers especially pregnant women and young children,” Gatoloaifaana added. Another result is to control tobacco distribution through control of marketing, sales and product details, ultimately preventing those under 21 from buying cigarettes. The introduction of the proposed legislation by the Minister is part of Samoas commitment to the World Health Organisations (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The Convention was approved by the 56th World Health Assembly in May 2003, and became international law in February 2005, it was later on ratified by the majority of Western Pacific Member states. Samoa signed this Convention in September 2003, and committed to ratifying in November 2005. According to the Gatoloaifaana, the passing of such a legislation will signify commitment of Government to not only improving the general health of the population but also to ensure Samoas adherence to international partnerships on tobacco control. According to published documentation by WHO, in the year 2000, a total of 1 million tobacco sticks were imported into Samoa while 10 million were exported. Currently the only place where Smoking is banned as part of regulation are Government buildings, there are also restricted smoking places in health facilities. Tobacco use is the world's leading cause of preventable death, responsible for almost 5 million deaths a year, mostly in poor countries and poor populations. Each day, in the Western Pacific Region alone, 3000 people die prematurely from tobacco-use related diseases. WHO says that the global tobacco epidemic continues to take a terrifying toll. If nothing is done, tobacco-use related deaths in the Western Pacific alone will double by the year 2030 to 2million each year, 6000 a day. Comments (1) Subscribe to this comment's feed Low Cost Maintenance written by davis, May 04, 2008 Guaranteeing a nutrition meal for school children, starting with preschoolers, a free lunch program would have made a broader impact..... but feeding the children of Samoa would have cost more than the no smoking signs. Write comment Name Email Title Comment

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