SMOKING, salt and soft drinks have come under serious scrutiny by the National Commission for Chronic Non Communicable Diseases, and chairman Professor Trevor Hassell wants authorities to do something about them. He said Government should consider enacting a legislation to eliminate smoking in public places and a ban on the sale, advertising and promotion of tobacco products to minors, with insistence on effective warning labels on cigarette packages. Addressing the Active Caribbean Workshop on Friday night, Hassell also suggested the articulation of a national policy on the consumption of salt, aimed at reducing the number of people with uncontrolled high blood pressure. He also said: "Policy makers and leaders in the Caribbean might seek to enact policies in which only nutritious foods and drinks are sold by concessionaires in public school canteens and on school premises. So called soft drinks should not be sold in schools in Barbados or throughout the Caribbean." He was speaking as Caribbean health professionals met in Barbados to find solutions to the lifestyle and preventable diseases affecting men and women in the region. The Active Caribbean Workshop promises to come up with the best interventions for the Caribbean. Professor Henry Fraser, chairman of the workshop, said it was critical to face the issue that too many people in the Caribbean were inactive. Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George told participants that a recent study showed that more than half of Barbadian men and women are overweight and this was directly linked to the inactivity mentioned by Fraser. (PA)
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