THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority yesterday expressed support to anti-smoking advocates pushing for a smoke-free environment.
MMDA Chairman Romando Artes said the agency will intensify the promotion of a “smoke-free” environment policy by raising public awareness on the effects of tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke.
“Despite the decrease in number on the exposure to secondhand smoke, the MMDA will continue with our activity on tobacco control,” Artes said.
Artes said the MMDA will also provide technical assistance to the 17 local government units in Metro Manila in the development of policies, capacity building, communication strategies and monitoring of no-smoking compliance.
He noted a recent study by the US Centers for Disease Control Prevention that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke and that even brief exposure can cause immediate harm.
The US CDC study also showed that non-smoking adults who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work have a 25 percent to 30 percent increased risk of developing lung cancer.
The results of the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) released last December showed that exposure to secondhand smoke in homes and public places has “significantly declined,” with the largest decrease in exposure to secondhand smoke occurring in public transportation–from 55.3 percent in 2009 and 37.6 percent in 2015 down to 12.2 percent in 2021.
Furthermore, the survey showed that exposure to secondhand smoke in homes also declined from 54.4 percent in 2009 to 34.7 percent in 2015 to 21.4 percent in 2021.
Meanwhile, in the workplace, it also decreased from 22.6 percent in 2009 and 21.5 percent in 2015 to 12.9 percent in 2021.
Despite this, Artes said there is a need to sustain measures to further reduce tobacco use in the metropolis.
The MMDA chief said this includes advocacy on public transport terminals by giving short orientation on the dangers of smoking to health to public utility vehicle drivers and operators.
Former Health Secretary Jaime Galvez Tan, now a trustee of Health Justice Philippines pushing for a smoke-free environment, said the administration of President Marcos Jr. should not waver in its commitment to address the immeasurable harm of tobacco use.
“While the results of the 2021 DOH GATS underscore the immense progress the Philippines has made, the Marcos Jr. government must not waver in its commitment to address the immeasurable harm of tobacco use. As such, the government must continue and sustain the implementation of proven measures to reduce tobacco use,” Tan said.
Among these measures, Tan said, are enacting further increases in tobacco excise tax, institutionalizing the smoke-free policy, strictly regulating e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, imposing plain packaging on tobacco products, and prohibiting tobacco advertising and sponsorships.
He added there should also be strict enforcement of regulation restricting access to minors on the sale of cigarettes within 100 meters of school vicinity as well as the full implementation of a smoke-free workplace policy in compliance to Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular No. 17 series of 2009.
On the other hand, Dr. Ma. Victoria Raquiza, co-convenor of Social Watch Philippines, pushed for the passage of the smoke-free law.
“Now is an opportune time to pass House Bill 5315. Smoke-free laws have been shown to reduce smoking initiation and exposure to secondhand smoke. We call on our leaders to pass this legislation and protect the policy-making process from any interference from the tobacco industry,” Raquiza said.
HB 5315, also known as the Smoke-Free Environment Bill and authored by Kalinga Party-list Irene Gay Saulog, aims to institutionalize smoking bans in public places as defined by Executive Order 26.
“This will ensure that a singular definition of areas where an absolute ban on smoking shall be observed across the country,” Raquiza added.
The bill also prohibits indoor designated smoking areas in compliance with the country’s commitment to the World Health Organization-Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) to promote the right to health of workers and people in enclosed spaces.
