The Philippine Online Chronicles

Starting Monday, May 30, smoking will be banned in public places and secondary roads in Metro Manila.

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and 17 local government units in the metropolis will prohibit smoking in bus terminals, waiting sheds, schools, hospitals, recreational places and inside public utility vehicles as part of its intensified no-smoking policy to protect Filipinos from secondhand smoke.

The implementation of the ban coincides with the observance of the 100% Smoke-Free Environment campaign and the World No Tobacco Day celebration on June 1, 2011.

The MMDA will launch an information campaign to announce the smoking ban and will field 'environmental enforcers' to implement Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, and anti-smoking prohibitions of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and all local ordinances.

According to MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, “We must be very strict in implementing our anti-smoking regulation. We want the MMDA to become a model government agency in terms of compliance with the CSC policy."

In mid-June last year, the MMDA intensified its no-smoking campaign within its premises as required by a Civil Service Commission (CSC) directive ordering a total smoking ban in all government offices.

Starting July, violators of the ban in Metro Manila will pay a P500 for the first offense while those who cannot pay the fine will render an eight-hour community service.

Smoke free by 2012

Last May 21, more than 25 officers and enforcers from MMDA and LGUs joined a training session to arm them with the necessary legal knowledge and skills in the use of various communication tools to enforce the tobacco regulation law and make Metro Manila a 100% smoke-free region by 2012.

The training was facilitated by the MMDA and the University of the Philippines – College of Mass Communication, in cooperation with the University of the Philippines - College of Law Development Foundation and public health groups HealthJustice and New Vois Association of the Philippines.

“With this training, we hope to provide the participants the needed knowledge and coach them on how they can effectively communicate the campaign to their respective teams,” said Dr. Risa Yapchiongo, project manager of the MMDA-Bloomberg smoke free project.

The MMDA is currently in partnership with the New York-based foundation Bloomberg Philantrophies to make Metro Manila a smoke-free region by 2012. The institution has approved a P9.5-million grant for the program.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI) contested the smoking ban in major and secondary roads in Metro Manila, arguing that roads are not included in RA 9211's list of prohibited places. The PTI asked the MMDA to reconsider its decision to implement the anti-smoking campaign.

Social indicators and health risks

Based on data from the DOH and the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking kills 10 Filipinos every hour, or 80,000 Filipinos every year.

According to health experts, constant exposure to second-hand smoke doubles the risk of heart attack. Persons also become 25% more susceptible to lung cancer.

The effects of second-hand smoke on lung function are similar to smoking a few sticks a day. It can cause emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthma attacks.

A 2009 survey by the DOH and Social Weather Station found that some 28 percent of Filipinos are smokers. The percentage of smokers in rural areas is higher at 28% while in urban areas it is 27%.

The study also revealed that more smokers belong to the Class E at 31% followed by Class D at 26% and Class ABC with only 21%.

Males were also found to smoke more, at 46%, than females, at 8%.

Most smokers, or 30% of the respondents who smoke, belong to the 35 to 44 years old age bracket, followed by the 18 to 24 years old at 26 percent, while 22 percent are aged 55 years and up.

The DOH survey also found that those with a higher educational attainment tend to smoke less than those with no formal education.

By educational attainment, only 20% of those who completed college education smoke, while up to 32% of those with no formal education smoke.