Caribbean governments say they will increase taxes on tobacco and alcohol to cut the cost on their health budgets to treat diseases triggered by those products. They also agreed to limit or eliminate smoking in public places, ban the sale, advertising and promotion of tobacco products to children and insist on manufacturers putting effective warning labels on their products. This is just one of the commitments given by regional leaders who attended the first Summit on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases which took place in Trinidad on September 15. Behind the proposed action is the intention to reduce the risk factors responsible for thousands of deaths from high blood pressure, obesity, alcohol, tobacco, heart diseases, cancers, diabetes and stroke. 51 per cent of all deaths in the Caribbean are said to result from the chronic non-communicable diseases. Reprinted from radioja.com