Barbados Country Profile Summary (WHO Global Tobacco Epidemic Report, 2021)
Core Information
- Country: Barbados
- Population: 287,371
- Income Group: High-income
- Date of Signature of WHO FCTC: 28 June 2004
- Date of Ratification of WHO FCTC: 3 November 2005
MPOWER Measures Overview
MPOWER is a framework used to monitor tobacco control progress, with compliance scored on a scale of 0-10 (10 being the highest). Compliance is measured only for Smoke-Free Environments (E) and Health Warnings (W).
Compliance Scores
| Measure |
Score |
| Smoke-Free Environments |
10 |
| Health Warnings |
10 |
| Cigarettes Less Affordable Since 2010 |
YES |
MPOWER Score Color Key
- Complete measure: Highest level of compliance
- Moderate measure: Moderate level of compliance
- Minimal measure: Minimal level of compliance
- No policy or weak measure: No policy or weak compliance
- Not categorized/No data: No data available
- YES: Cigarettes became less affordable
- NO: Cigarettes did not become less affordable
- ↔: No trend change in affordability
Tobacco Use Prevalence
Adult Data (Health of the Nation, 2011-12)
| Category |
Current (%) |
Daily (%) |
| Male |
... |
11.0 |
| Female |
... |
2.3 |
| Both sexes |
... |
6.4 |
Adolescent Data (Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 2013)
| Category |
Current (%) |
Daily (%) |
| Male |
17.4 |
15.7 |
| Female |
11.4 |
9.3 |
| Both sexes |
14.5 |
12.6 |
Smoke-Free Environments
- Compliance Score: 10
- Complete smoke-free laws apply to:
- Health-care facilities
- Educational facilities (except universities)
- Government facilities
- Indoor offices and workplaces
- Partial compliance applies to:
- Restaurants
- Cafés, pubs and bars
- No compliance for:
- Fines for violations: Yes (for both establishments and smokers)
- Enforcement funds: No
- Complaint system: No
Health Warnings on Tobacco Packages
- Mandated: Yes for all tobacco products
- Coverage of principal display area: 60%
- Font style, size, and colour: Yes
- Rotating warnings: Yes
- Language: Yes (in principal languages)
- Not obscured: Yes
- Include graphics: Yes
- Cover all packaging: Yes
- Specific health warnings: Yes
- Number of specific warnings: 16 for cigarettes, 16 for other smoked tobacco, 8 for smokeless tobacco
Tobacco Advertising, Promotion, and Sponsorship
- Direct advertising bans: No
- Promotion and sponsorship bans: No
- Ban on tobacco vending machines: Yes
- Ban on internet sales: No
- Subnational laws: No authority to adopt such laws
Tobacco Taxation
- Taxation policy: Data not available
- Cigarette affordability: Cigarettes became less affordable since 2010
- Tax revenue data (2013/2014):
- Total Excise (specific and ad valorem): 290,227.66 BBD
- VAT and other sales taxes: Not reported
- Import duties: Not reported
- Other taxes: Not reported
Earmarked Taxes for Health
- Earmarking: No data reported
Summary of MPOWER Measures
| Measure |
Status |
| Monitoring |
No recent or representative data |
| Smoke-Free Environments |
Complete measure |
| Cessation Programmes |
No data reported |
| Health Warnings |
Complete measure |
| Mass Media Campaigns |
No national campaign conducted between July 2018 and June 2020 |
| Advertising Bans |
No complete ban on all forms of advertising, promotion, and sponsorship |
Key Points
- Smoke-Free Environment Compliance is high, with complete bans in most public places.
- Health warnings are mandated on all tobacco packages with sufficient coverage and design standards.
- Cigarette affordability has improved since 2010, indicating a potential impact on tobacco consumption.
- Tobacco taxation data is not available, but there is a complete ban on tobacco vending machines.
- No national anti-tobacco mass media campaigns were conducted between 2018 and 2020.
- Cessation support is available in some health professional offices and the community, but not in health clinics or hospitals.
- Health insurance does not cover cessation support.
