Hon Mark Scotland Minister of Health

Leader of Government Business and Premier Designate, Hon McKeeva Bush, said a press conference would be held tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss the particulars of the Tobacco Law, and to clear the air on reasons behind its delay.

“There is a further delay in the legislation because there was nothing to move forward with, but now we have something to move forward with and the law will take effect by the end of the year,” Mr Bush told Cayman Net News.

One year after the Cayman Islands legislature received unanimous approval for the passage of a law that would see cigarette smoking banned in public places, commencement of the tobacco law faces a second delay.

The government released a press statement addressing the issue of the delay, but details are still unclear.

“Cayman’s new Tobacco Law will certainly not be abandoned although the commencement date for this legislation has been pushed back to 31 December 2009,” Minister of Health, Hon. Mark Scotland said.

“The amendment was approved in Cabinet earlier this week and will allow more time for finalising regulations and for putting the necessary administrative processes in place,” Mr Scotland explained.

According to a GIS press release, the health ministry hopes to present Cabinet with the final regulations within a few weeks, after which town hall-style stakeholder meetings will begin between late November and early December.

“These meetings will focus on educating people on the provisions of the law and will be open to the public,” Mr Scotland said.

“While we do regret this delay, on the bright side, the newly-scheduled implementation means that we will have a few extra weeks for public education before implementation,” the health minister further noted.

The law was scheduled to come into effect on 31 May 2009, and was to coincide with World No Tobacco Day. Following the first delay, the government had provided a deadline of 30 October, but a further delay has now pushed the legislation back to 31 December 2009.

In effect, the law would place tougher restrictions on the distribution, promotion and sale of tobacco products in the Cayman Islands. It seeks to fully ban smoking in bars and restaurants and also restricts the selling of tobacco products to minors. The only part of the tobacco law in place now is a ban on selling tobacco to minors, which came into effect on 1 May 2009.

News of the delay has not sat well with anti-smoking advocates.

Director and COO of the Cayman Islands Cancer Society, Christine Sanders, has been a strong activist for the Tobacco Law since 2004, and is very disappointed with the further delay.

“From a cancer society perspective, we are just very disappointed in the delay of the legislation. Each day of the delay places a greater impact on someone’s health,” Ms Sanders told Cayman Net News.

She expressed hope that it will not be a long delay, and that the law will be enacted by the end of the year.

“We hope that the legislation has not been changed significantly as a result of the delay and that it will take effect before year’s end,” she said.

“Most of the people that I have spoken to are disappointed in the delay. They feel that when they go out in public places they are putting their lives at risk by being exposed to secondhand smoke,” Ms Sanders said.

Noting that it was not just cancer survivors who were being placed at risk, she said the lives of asthmatics, heart disease patients, chronic lung disease patients and many others were in jeopardy as a result of the delay in enacting the tobacco law.

“We are all at risk due to secondhand tobacco smoke,” she said.

“In the meantime, in the spirit of the law, we encourage businesses to familiarise themselves with the new legislation. We also congratulate those who are already adhering to the new requirements,” the health minister has noted.