100% Smokefree Law for Mauritius

Honorable Ministers of the Republic of Mauritius
 
The Non Governmental Organisations of Mauritius and the international tobacco control community welcome the new amendments to the 'Public Health Act- tobacco regulations' that will be implemented in March 2009. However, we humbly ask the Minister of Labour and the Mauritian government to remove from the 'Occupational and Safety Act' the exception of 'demarcated smoking areas', that is a measure in blatant contradiction  to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) that Mauritius ratified in 2004. The tobacco smoke is toxic and represents a serious and real health risk, it should be eliminated at its source. Smoking areas are inefficient and breach the article 8 of the international health treaty of the World Health Organisation that recognizes 'that exposure to tobacco smoke causes death, disease and disability', This article of the FCTC creates an obligation to the Parties 'to provide protection from exposure to tobacco smoke in workplaces and other public places'.
We urge that this be done by issuing implementing regluations that allow demarcated smoking areas only in outdoor spaces of workplaces, so that the law be in conformity with the article 8 of the FCTC that deals with protection from exposure to tobacco smoke.
 
Thanking you,
 
Sincerely,