Solomon Islands to Crack down on Tobacco Sales

Source from:  Radio Australia 04/18/2013

The Solomon Islands Government says it hopes to have tough new anti-tobacco laws in place by the end of May to coincide with World No Tobacco Day.

The Solomon Islands Government says it hopes to have tough new anti-tobacco laws in place by the end of May to coincide with World No Tobacco Day.

Under changes being considered by Cabinet, it would illegal to sell tobacco products within 200 metres of schools and restaurants.

Smoking in some public places, including schools, restaurants and government offices, would be also be banned.

Dr Lester Ross, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health, has told Radio Australia there'll also be big warnings on cigarette packets.

"I understand that some countries in the Pacific have 30 per cent of the packet on the front and 70 per cent on the back," he said.

"I think our taskforce at the moment they are aiming to go for the largest percentage of the packet in the Pacific."

Chinese traders in Honiara fear they'll be unfairly targeted because a lot of their shops are located in the restaurant precinct in the city's Chinatown.

Matthew Quan, President of the Chinese Association of Solomon Islands, says those traders are worried.

"The Chinese traders here can't really go anywhere," he said.

"It seems that if anyone's going to be prosecuted or caught for doing the wrong thing, it will most likely be from those shops because they're not going to be going anywhere, therefore they're an easy target for the enforcement." Enditem