Protect our youth from tobacco
published: Monday | March 22, 2004

THE EDITOR, Sir:

PARLIAMENTARIANS WHO think that it is possible for tobacco companies to provide 'corporate sponsorship' in ways that don't recruit new smokers should look to the experience in Canada and other countries and think again. (Tobacco companies get green light - Wednesday Mar 17, 2000).

The Canadian parliament banned sponsorship in 1988, but left the door open, as the Jamaican parliamentary committee is now recommending, to conditional sponsorship. It took the tobacco companies no time to figure out how to circumvent the laws, and to make their conditional sponsorship promotions even more attractive to Canadian children than the direct ads that were banned.

It was not until the ban on promotions included corporate sponsorship promotions that smoking rates began to really fall. I strongly urge the House of Representatives to protect Jamaican youth from all forms of tobacco promotions.

I am, etc.,

CYNTHIA CALLARD

ccallard@smoke-free.ca

Executive director

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada

Ottawa, Canada

Via Go-Jamaica