Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in many countries. Cigarette smoking kills a considerable number of persons each year, with a substantial proportion of these deaths due to exposure to second-hand smoke. Smoking is therefore a major public health problem that must be addressed urgently.

High-level health authorities from throughout the region of the Americas agreed to adopt legislation that will create 100 per cent smoke-free environments in all countries of the region by 2022, one of the measures that the World Health Organization (WHO) considers to be most effective in controlling the smoking epidemic and preventing associated diseases.

According to the WHO, nearly 17 per cent of the adult population in the Americas smokes. Tobacco control is a powerful instrument for improving health and promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 3.4, which aims to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by one-third by 2030.

Tobacco use is a major risk factor for NCDs, including chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, various types of cancer, and diabetes. In the region, NCDs are responsible for 80 per cent of all deaths, 35 per cent of which are premature.

In St Vincent and the Grenadines, the National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted a few years ago showed that 12.2 per cent of persons who took part in the survey were current smokers of tobacco and tobacco related products. There was a nine times greater number of male smokers when compared to females. Most male smokers were younger than female smokers, between the ages of 30 and 69 years, while most female smokers were between ages 45 and 69.

In terms of initiating smoking, males started to smoke at 16 years, while females initiated later, at about 19 years. Young people are being exposed to tobacco at a young age and so if they do not quit, they will spend a significant part of their lives smoking; thus the prolonged exposure can increase their risk of tobacco related diseases and death.

The survey also showed that 16.9 per cent of the respondents were exposed to second-hand smoke at home, especially among younger age groups and 18.8 per cent exposed in the workplace. Second-hand smoke can be harmful in many ways. For instance, it affects the heart and blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke in non-smokers. Some studies have linked secondhand smoke to mental and emotional changes, too. For instance, some studies have shown that exposure to SHS is linked to symptoms of depression.

It is important that measures be put in place to reduce and eliminate exposure to second-hand smoke at home and in the workplace.

The legislation adapted is considered one of the four “best buys” for non-communicable disease prevention and control, along with the inclusion of large, graphic health warnings on all tobacco packaging, raising taxes on tobacco, and a total ban on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

If you are smoking, it is not too late to quit. Remember you are not harming yourself. You are harming others in the process.

Dr Rosmond Adams, MD is a medical doctor and a public health specialist with training in bioethics and ethical issues in medicine, the life sciences and research. He is the head of Health Information, Communicable Disease and Emergency Response at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).

He is also a member of the World Health Organization Global Coordination Mechanism on the Prevention and Control of NCDs.

(The views expressed here are not written on behalf of CARPHA nor the WHO).

He may be contacted at adamsrosmond@gmail.com