The Fight To End Smoking In Belize
According to the National Drug Abuse Control Council, Tobacco is the third most consumed substance in Belize, trailing only behind marijuana and alcohol for the past several years. The reports indicate that a higher number of youths will continue to consume tobacco as long as it remains readily accessible on the local market. As a result, the council is taking multiple steps to deter youths from consuming tobacco before an addiction can be developed. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
The normalization of tobacco consumption among youths has been a growing concern in Belize for the past several years. Every year, around two hundred Belizeans die as a direct or indirect result of smoking and, with the rise of electronic cigarettes and vaping devices, tobacco addiction is developing at an earlier stage. With that concern in mind, the National Drug Abuse Control Council and its partners are working towards implementing policies that will hinder the accessibility of tobacco to youths in Belize.
Esner Vellos
Esner Vellos, Director, NDACC, M.O.H.W.
“So what is the Ministry of Health and Wellness doing? We have drafted a national tobacco bill, and this bill we’re hoping that we are able to cross through all the stages so that it would be approved and once it’s approved and implemented in the country of Belize, it would look at putting a specific age limit in terms of consumption of tobaccos, whereas eighteen would be the recommended age for individuals to be able to consume tobacco, but also eighteen being the age where people can legally purchase tobacco products.”
Data collected by NDACC indicate that the primary consumers of tobacco products are young males. Studies from the Pan American Health Organization reveal that nearly seventeen percent of tobacco consumers are males between the ages thirteen and fifteen.
Esner Vellos
“The most affected population are young people, especially in this new day and age where the traditional consumption of tobacco has spread to new and emerging products such as e cigarettes, hookahs, vaping products and so forth and these are attractive products that are consumed by our younger population. So the National Tobacco Bill looks at how we can reduce consumption among the population. It looks at how we can increase a taxation in these tobacco products because the formula of taxation for tobacco consumption has always proven effective because the increase of the cost of tobacco products gives in one way or the other a more it’s more limited for accessibility to the younger population.”
We spoke with Dr. Fernando Cuellar, who gave us insight into the dangers of the vaping as an alternative to cigarettes.
Fernando Cuellar
Dr. Fernando Cuellar, Internist, Belize Medical Associates
“Categorically, I will say that smoking is bad for your health and vaping is bad for your health. Remember, vaping came about because it would have served as an alternative to smoking tobacco. But in the short amount of time that has been here there are studies, there is data, there is information already showing the negative effects of vaping on your body. And unfortunately, I think one of the reasons that young people mostly are hit with these exposures is the good business of marketing. It’s marketing of the companies that make these things. They make it feel as though it’s safe to smoke or safe to vape with little or no side effects.”
Dr. Cuellar also spoke about the negative impacts smoking has on the body. He explained that not only are smokers at risk of lung cancer, but also risk exacerbating preexisting health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Cumulatively, these illnesses kill over five hundred Belizeans each year.
Dr. Fernando Cuellar
“There’s more than enough data that shows that smoking leads to conditions such as, what we refer to as COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, are the two main examples there, where people destroy their lungs. They form a lot of scarring of the lungs and have them have trouble breathing after a certain time of smoking, meaning that they will not be able to breathe in room air satisfactorily. So they need to be supplemented by oxygen. And those are the people walking around with oxygen tanks.”
Some youths are joining the cause to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking. We visited Belize High School where students, Cortlandt Woods, Omarry Medina, and Alaine Perdomo demonstrated how tar enters the respiratory system through smoking, using a water bottle and cotton pads.
Cortlandt Woods
Cortlandt Woods, Senior, Belize High School
“This is from a previous experiment that we did with the same thing. It was just a bigger water bottle so there was more air coming through. And this is an example of what happens when you smoke a cigarette. As you can see, your lungs are like a natural filtration system of the air that goes into your body. And when you smoke, it produces a lot of smoke. And it has tar, so it’s not very good for your body.”
Omarry Medina
Omarry Medina, Senior, Belize High School
“I think it was very important to highlight the fact, having a visual for smoking. It’s easy to talk about it, but it’s different when you actually have a visual to show people what’s going on.”
Britney Gordon for News Five.
