KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Jamaicans planning to attend football matches and other events at the National Stadium are being reminded that no smoking will be allowed.

General Manager, Independence Park Limited (IPL), Major Desmond Brown, told JIS News that IPL has started a public education campaign to create awareness about the no-smoking ban.  

He said it is illegal to smoke cigarettes or ganja at the IPL facilities, which include the National Stadium, National Indoor Sports Centre, Stadium East, Leila Robinson Courts and the National Aquatic Centre.

Brown is reminding citizens of the smoking ban implemented through the Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations 2013, which became effective on Monday, July 15, 2013.

Under the regulations, areas designated as no-smoking spaces include all enclosed places accessible to the public; public transportation; workplaces; Government-owned and occupied buildings; health facilities, including pharmacies; sports and recreational facilities for use by the public; educational institutions; areas specifically for use by children; and places of collective use, such as bus stops.

People who decide to smoke at the venue could find themselves facing fines or imprisonment for breaching the ban.  Fines range from $10,000 for a first offence; $25,000 for a second, and $50,000 for subsequent offences.

Brown said that IPL has received complaints about the smoke nuisance at the stadium.

“The complaints we are getting, especially for football, is that persons are not coming to the stadium, because they sit down with their family, and somebody comes beside them and starts smoking a cigarette or a spliff,” he said.

Major Brown urged citizens to refrain from smoking at the stadium for the two hours they are present. He revealed that plans to have a smoking area at the stadium are included in the infrastructure development plan for the facility.

“In the development, we will be creating some smoking areas, so that people can smoke. It will be away from where the crowd is,” he said.