TACKLING THE TOBACCO CHALLENGE - ACHIEVING HEALTHY PUBLIC-POLICY IN TOBACCO CONTROL IN GUERNSEY

Scientific evidence identifying smoking as the major cause of poor hea lth and premature death in both industrialised and increasingly in dev eloping countries is now overwhelming. Despite this, for a variety of reasons, there has been reluctance amongst many Governments including that of Britain, to take all logical action necessary to restrict and reduce smoking, especially amongst the young. The States of Guernsey i n the Channel islands has recently agreed to introduce an integrated p ackage of measures designed specifically to make smoking less attracti ve and less accessible and less affordable to young people in an attem pt to reduce the number of addicted adult smokers. These measures incl ude a total ban of all public advertising of tobacco, apart from at po int of sale, a substantial price rise followed by further price rises for a minimum period of five years, a raising of the minimum age for t he purchase of tobacco from 16 to 18 years, and increase in the size a nd content of pack health warnings, and increased funding for specific non-smoking health promotion activities. The various barriers to achi eving these reforms are described.