Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Dr Ram Raju is pushing for Fiji to be declared smoke free.
While praising the efforts of the Fiji Cancer Society for its continued awareness on the life-threatening illness, Dr Raju says the only way to stop this dangerous trend was to declare a smoke-free Fiji.
“The majority of life-threatening malignancies may usually be prevented from developing in the womb, even though it cannot entirely prevent all cancers in the community,” he said.
“With the right tools, successfully identifying a cure while also preventing and early detecting a range of cancers can be done.
“Talks about reducing the cancer rate in Fiji where smoking should be absolutely prohibited are being discussed.”
He said tobacco businesses should be outlawed.
“Supporting the tobacco business, which is the leading cause of cancer and heart attacks, is utterly indefensible and smoking needs to be outlawed in Fiji.
“The most daring move that can be taken to stop this dangerous trend is a smoke-free Fiji.
“If not, the fight will never be won and cases of mourning the loss of a loved one who passed away too soon will increase.
“Despite the finest efforts over the previous 40 plus years, anti-smoking health regulations have never been effective.
“Teenagers that continue to develop the habit end up smoking their entire lives and Fiji is a good illustration of this.”
