Smoking ban may be extended

The proposed extension of the ban on smoking to terraces, balconies, inner courtyards, verandas and platforms has reached second debate in the National Assembly.

The initiative was launched by Deputy Alcibiades Vasquez, who says it not aimed at the tobacco industry but to give greater importance to protecting human life.

 Vasquez said that despite existing prohibitions there is , need to expand its scope.
He argues that the reform proposal is under the Convention of the World Health Organization, ratified by Panama in 2004, which aims to protect public health, seriously affected by the consumption of tobacco and exposure to second hand smoke.
This, he says, is causing high rates of morbidity, mortality and illness, which represents a high cost to the state in the care of patients affected by cancer.

According to the Ministry of Health, annually 2,300 people die each year of cancer related to tobacco use.