We agree with the Executive Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Blind Welfare Association, Kenneth Suratt, who has commended Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh on the government banning the sale of soft drinks in schools. This is part of a bigger plan to create healthy zones. Such a move goes a long way in reducing blindness linked to diabetes, Suratt said.
He added: “I totally support the government on their decision to reduce sugar content in schools by adjusting the menu in the school feeding program and what is sold in school cafeterias. Since diabetes is a major cause of blindness and consuming too much sugar could lead to diabetes, a patient suffering from diabetes could develop diabetic retinopathy, which could lead to complete blindness.”
Diabetic retinopathy affects blood vessels in the retina, and is a common cause of vision loss among people with diabetes.
Suratt’s promotion of a healthy lifestyle in schools follows recently published Caricom reports indicating Trinidad and Tobago to be second behind Guyana, with both nations among 34 countries in the Americas with the highest rates of mortality from heart disease. Such a high mortality rate is the result of unhealthy lifestyles, with the contributing factors being consumption of foods high in sugars, salt and fats, a lack of physical activity, heavy alcohol consumption, and smoking.
This revelation was among updates presented last month in Port-of-Spain by Dr Alafia Samuels, Head of the Centre for the Study of Chronic Diseases, at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies. Dr Samuels is part of a team looking at the progress made in the ten years since the Port-of-Spain Declaration. This Declaration was signed in 2007 by Caricom leaders aimed at uniting to stop the epidemic of Non Communicable Diseases, considered to be a crisis in the region.
Among Dr Samuels’ revelations was the consumption rate of the equivalent of two soft drinks a day for each person in the Caribbean, which she said is the highest of any region in the world. Such a revelation makes Suratt’s recent comments on diabetic retinopathy welcome, and the Trinidad and Tobago government’s position commendable on banning the sale of sugary drinks in schools.
Another report tracking the progress of actions and initiatives coming out of the Port-of-Spain Declaration indicated little progress had been made on its decisions to ban the promotion of tobacco products in Caricom countries. According to this report, only Barbados, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago took significant steps to create 100 percent smoke-free zones for its citizens.
As was reported, from the experience based on action taken, and from studies conducted, increasing taxes on tobacco products remains an effective approach to reducing consumption and raising government revenue, as long as smuggling was deterred and controlled. According to the report, only in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and Barbados were studies undertaken regarding this issue.
However, what remains in the works for the region is a plan calling for implementation of legislation, which among other things, puts in place the demand for 100 percent smoke free spaces, for labels on tobacco products to have sufficiently large and graphic warnings, for further increases in taxation, and for the banning of tobacco sponsorships.
Alcohol products are also within the scope of these plans, with the move being considered for increased taxation on alcohol products, the objective being to achieve a proposed ten percent reduction in the harmful consumption of alcohol. The report further indicated what the region needs to arrive at is standardisation of a minimum alcohol purchasing and drinking age, with countries banning, or regulating alcohol marketing and sports sponsorships. In Trinidad and Tobago, for example, the minimum drinking age is set at 18 years.
Ten years later and a lot more is yet to be accomplished as Caricom deals with its epidemic NCDs issues.