By IANTHIA SMITH, Guardian Staff Reporter

ianthia@nasguard.com

Carefree smokers will soon be forced to light up their "cancer sticks" in the privacy of their own homes, as the government is on a drive to crackdown on smoking in public places.

Health officials are now in the process of drafting legislation that will ensure that non-smokers are not subjected to scary illnesses that could develop due to second hand smoking.

Delivering the keynote address at the First Annual Public Exhibition: "Towards a Smoke Free Bahamas," Minister of Health and National Insurance, Bernard Nottage, insisted that his ministry is committed to promoting a smoke-free Bahamas.

"Already the Office of the Attorney General has prepared drafts of rules and regulations which would allow for the introduction of smoke-free spaces in public schools and extend smoke-free rules to all airports and other buildings," Dr. Nottage said. "My concern is not illness, my concern is good health and there is no question that smoking is a deadly habit."

This new legislation, Dr. Nottage said, would not be the country's first attempt to keep the dangers of smoking from the general public. Over the years, he added, the government has consistently supported and ensured implementation of the World Health Organisation's guidelines and recommendations. A health order banned the advertising of tobacco products as far back as 1979. The Bahamas, Dr. Nottage said, in effect has maintained a proactive posture promoting smoke-free environments.

"But (tobacco companies) seem to be very resilient because no matter what we do, people keep smoking," Dr. Nottage added.

The government has undertaken such an aggressive initiative to ban smoking in public places because medical reports have increasingly shown that second hand smoking is more dangerous than directly inhaled smoke.

"Second hand smoke releases the same 4,000 chemicals as smoke that is directly inhaled," Dr. Nottage reiterated, "but in even greater quantity." "Further, it is estimated that 50 of such chemicals cause cancer."

The public exhibition, which has been ongoing for the past three weeks in the main Post Office Building on East Hill Street, provided an array of pictures and flyers that highlighted the dangers of smoking and second-hand smoke.

Illnesses and deaths associated with tobacco smoke are reported to be one of the leading causes of lowered productivity and probable causes for decreased economic activity. Dr. Nottage added, "[At least] 10 per cent" of deaths in The Bahamas might be related to some form of smoking.