Three months jail for defying smoke ban

Tobacco smoking will be banned in enclosed and some other public places in Jamaica from July 15, according to a piece in The New York Times by Tanya Mohn.

From that date, smoking will be prohibited in enclosed public places, such as workplaces; government buildings; educational institutions; health facilities, including pharmacies; on public transport; at sporting and recreational facilities; and at places of collective use, such as bus stops.

During the next six months, businesses will be required to post signs to alert customers of the bans, which is just as well since smokers who light up in places where smoking is banned could be fined JMD50,000 or thrown into jail for three months.

Jamaica will require also that tobacco products carry big graphic health warnings in addition to the textual ones currently in use.