KEY POINTS:
APIA, Samoa - Children may soon be prohibited from buying cigarettes from local shops in Samoa.
This depends on the acceptance of the Tobacco Control Bill 2008 recently discussed in Parliament.
Ever since cigarettes were introduced and sold in Samoa, children as young as five have been able
to buy packets or lose cigarettes from local shops, usually for their parents.
On that note, 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 secondhand 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 harmful 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.
"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 Organization (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 it in November 2005.
According to the Gatoloaifaana, the passing of such legislation will signify the commitment of the Government to not only improving the general health of the population but also to ensuring Samoa's adherence to international partnerships on tobacco control.
According to surveys by WHO, in the year 2000 a total of 1 million tobacco sticks were imported into Samoa while 10 million were exported.
WHO also revealed in a 2001 study that Samoans had a hard time quitting smoking, and in fact some never consider it.
Currently the only place where smoking is banned as part of regulation are Government buildings, there are also restricted smoking places in health facilities and some restaurants.
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 worldwide.
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.
- Newsline Samoa