This article about picture based health warnings was originally published in the Alliance Bulletin # 68 (July 3, 2007 p. 5). It is co-signed by Eva Lewis-Fuller (Jamaica), Adrian Randall (Barbados) and Beatriz Marcet Champagne (InterAmerican Heart Foundation).
Regulations governing tobacco package warnings in the Caribbean in almost all countries are seriously outdated or non-existent.
Although each country regulates tobacco packaging on a national basis, CARICOM (Caribbean Community), a regional integration group, has overall authority to develop standards that are customarily adopted by countries.
The Labelling Technical Committee of the Bureau of Standards (BOS) of Jamaica is the body designated by CARICOM to develop recommendations for tobacco package warnings.
Its recommendations, while not legally required, are customarily adopted by other CARICOM countries.
In 2005 the BOS was asked by the regional Standards body to revise the cigarette labelling standards for use as a prototype by Member States of CARICOM.
An amendment to the Jamaican standards was issued in October 2006 but does not include picture based warnings.
It does, however, require bolder text warnings on 30% of the front and 30% of the back panels of cigarette packages.
The Jamaican amendment includes warnings on bidis, which are becoming popular with youth.
A key barrier to the development of a strong recommendation by the Jamaica BOS is the fact that tobacco industry reps are members of the Committee studying the warnings.
They are fiercely opposing the adoption of picture-based warnings, claiming an infringement of their freedom of speech and a violation of trademark rights.
Plenty of evidence, however, shows that picture based health warnings on tobacco packaging are highly effective in motivating smokers to quit smoking, in informing potential adolescent smokers of the harms of tobacco use, and in informing smokers of the harm caused to loved ones by exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.
Effective political support across all Caribbean countries is required to counteract the inordinate pressure that the tobacco companies are able to apply within the Technical Committee of the BOS of Jamaica.
There is a need to sensitize policy makers and the public regarding the importance of communicating accurate, clear, strong, direct, specific and easy to understand information about the health hazards of tobacco use and second hand tobacco smoke by intro- ducing strong picture-based health warning labels in the Caribbean countries.
CARICOM includes 15 member states, most of which were former British colonies and are English speaking.
There are also Dutch and French speaking countries. In total, there are approximately 15 million people, of which half are from French speaking Haiti.
Prevalence of tobacco use is about 15% in youths and approximately 10% to 25% in the population over age 15.
Eva Lewis-Fuller
Ministry of Health, Jamaica
Adrian Randall
Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados
Beatriz Marcet Champagne
InterAmerican Heart Foundation
Comments