Drug Control Council engages youth in prevention of tobacco and vape usage

The Belize Drug Control Council is intensifying efforts to lower the use of tobacco and cigarette smoking among young people as health officials, educators, and youth leaders gathered this morning for the National Tobacco Youth Forum in Belize City.  Throughout the discussions, participants examined the dangers associated with smoking, vaping, and exposure to secondhand smoke, particularly among adolescents. Organizers stressed that stronger prevention strategies, public education, and policy reform will be critical in reducing nicotine addiction and tobacco-related illnesses in Belize.  Executive Director of the National Drug Abuse Control Council, Esner Vellos, emphasized the importance of education and early intervention in helping young people make healthier lifestyle choices and avoid tobacco use.

Esner Vellos, Director, National Drug Abuse Control Council: “Because of the need of ensuring that our younger population would be able to get that information readily and available the Ministry of Health and Wellness partnered with the Pan-American Health Organization to be able to come up with a youth forum and this youth forum is specifically targeted to providing that information to the younger population in terms of the dangers of tobacco when it comes to nicotine as well as the dangers of new and emerging products such as vapes, hookas and electronic cigarettes, right? Because our recent Global Youth Tobacco Survey that we did in 2024 has demonstrated to us that more younger population is consuming these substances and the industry itself is marketing these substances in a way that younger population would gravitate around them and would consume more of it, right? So therefore the Ministry of Health and Wellness is very much in that process of ensuring the younger population would have that information and at the same time would be able to use that information wisely to make the right choices in life. We had a recent global youth tobacco survey that was done in 2024 and the data does show that there has been an increase of consumption of tobacco control among the younger population particularly among young women, right? At the same time, the Ministry of Health is working very steadfast in ensuring that we would be able to have a national tobacco bill. And as you may all know, the tobacco bill has been a bill that we’ve been working for quite some time. Again, this bill looks at protecting the lives but at the same time ensuring that every single in every single Belizean have access to cessation services within the Ministry of Health and the wider public health system.”

The forum, hosted at the Grand Resort and organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Pan American Health Organization, focused on the growing concerns surrounding tobacco and nicotine use among Belizean youths, while also highlighting the importance of the proposed Tobacco Control Bill 2025.  PAHO/WHO Representative in Belize, Dr. Karen Lewis Bell, highlighted the longstanding partnership with Belize in strengthening public health initiatives, including tobacco prevention and control efforts. She noted that the efforts made are grounded in evidence of harm from tobacco and nicotine use.

Dr. Karen Lewis Bell, PAHO/WHO Representative in Belize: “So the evidence is very clear that tobacco use is very harmful to the health. And the evidence is very strong that there is a causative effect that smoking tobacco causes illness. And so PAHO has been partnering with the Ministry of Health to provide a technical cooperation to really increase awareness and knowledge about the tobacco industry and the tactics that they use, the harmful effects of tobacco. And more importantly, we have been partnering with the Ministry of Health to provide support for the tobacco bill that is now before the House of Representatives for debate. PAHO only provides the technical cooperation in terms of ensuring that the information is factual, that the information that is included in the bill or the provisions in the bill are in keeping with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. So in terms of the debate in the House that is managed by the Ministry of Health. But we have provided technical guidance on the content of the bill. So we look at the provisions of the bill and make sure that they are in keeping with the Framework Convention on the Tobacco Control and the Empower package which really speaks about building awareness, ensuring that there is ban on advertising of tobacco products, to ensure that it includes novel tobacco products such as the vape, the e-cigarettes, the nicotine pouches, ban on advertising to minors. So there are several components of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. So we wanted to make sure that because Belize was introducing this bill we wanted to make sure that it was in keeping with the guidelines from the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.” 

Participants at the forum also called for continued education campaigns, stronger community involvement, and greater youth participation in shaping policies aimed at reducing tobacco and nicotine use across Belize.  Vellos shared that the National Tobacco Youth Forum will continue nationwide, with the next stop scheduled for the Orange Walk District, as organizers seek to engage more young people in conversations surrounding tobacco prevention and healthy living