On top of the annual 5.4 million killed globally by tobacco use, there are at least 600,000 people who die from exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) each year.
In addition to RA9211, which is the only law being cited by the Philippine Tobacco Institute, the tobacco industry's lobbying arm, the Philippines also has at least 2 other laws that cover smoking:
a. the Clean Air Act, which prohibits smoking in public places, and
b. the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an international public health treaty to which the Philippines and 173 other countries are Parties.
Based on irrefutable scientific evidence, the World Health Organization recommends that because there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke, only 100% smokefree public places can effectively protect people from such harmful exposure. This is also the core recommendation contained in the FCTC Article 8 Guidelines to help countries implement their treaty obligations.
For more information on second-hand smoke:
http://dryul.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-is-second-hand-smoke-shs.html
There is also clear scientific evidence that shows how secondhand tobacco smoke, especially indoors, is more harmful and more concentrated than vehicular smoke emissions.
Thus there is very strong legal and scientific basis for both MMDA and the LGUs to develop, implement, and enforce smoking restrictions that will protect Philippine public health. In fact, the national government also has the same legal and scientific basis to correct the weaknesses and inconsistencies in RA9211 (loopholes created by the tobacco industry) because the FCTC (based on scientific evidence and international best practice) was ratified by the Philippines after RA9211 was signed into law.
It's actually quite terrible that some congressmen give public health the lowest priority in their legislative agenda. They seem blind to the obvious fact that health is a cornerstone of social and economic development of our people and our country. Of course, some of them are in it more for the power and money rather than to serve the Filipino people.
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Smoking Ban: Boon or Bane?
An article by kinky
http://otra-cosa.com/httpdocs/?p=3171#comment-107
These past few months, May, to be exact; the court has ordered the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to implement the non smoking ban in Metro Manila, all of its cities and municipalities included.
It is to prohibit smoking of cigarettes in public places. From bus terminals, waiting sheds, schools, hospitals, recreational places and inside public utility vehicles, as they are putting up a campaign to protect Filipinos from secondhand smoke.
Smokers caught violating the public smoking ban will be fined PHP500 for the first offense, PHP 1000 for the second offense and PHP5000 for the succeeding violations. If a person is not able to afford the fine, they are required to serve 8 hours of community service. Frequent violators can also be detained.
The MMDA, however, announced that people can still smoke in designated areas so as not incur charges. Thinking about it, I being a smoker myself make me wonder if it would benefit me. Maybe, but can you really stop these major companies like Marlboro, Winston, Salem, etc. to stop their operations? Being part of the major investors in our country to stop their production? I don’t think so. A lot of people in the Philippines smoke, even our own President. It’s hard to stop this kind of industry.
There are a lot of loose ends on this new ordinance. They are issuing the MMDA to enforce the ban. The MMDA is placed under a “no line agency” and it exists by itself according to Section 29 of this new non smoking law. So technically, MMDA does not have the right to enforce the ordinance. If the Congress wanted to have MMDA implement the ban, they should have included MMDA in the list of implementing agencies in the first place. Also, the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI) is arguing that having the major and secondary roads included in this non smoking law is not included in the list of prohibited places according in the RA9211.
Because of these and a few more others, the court issued a temporary restraining order against the smoking ban.
I mean, this new law may benefit almost everyone, definitely not the smokers. But this is already out in the open and people tend to put more effort here than the other factors that have been going on longer than this one. Smoke belching public buses, jeeps and cars, for instance. Isn’t that more hazardous than cigarette smoke? The black smog that those public utility vehicles have been emitting, isn’t that more dangerous than cigarette smoke?
I strongly believe that being in the streets of Manila for 5 minutes does more harm than being a passive smoker for 10 years.
MMDA and the police force should first remove all those smoke belching jeeps, buses, trucks and the likes off the streets first than those cigarette smokers. That’s the only time that Metro Manila will be clean. They should remove the real threats first.
I hope the courts would be able to fix the loopholes in their smoking law. And as a Filipino, I support it even if I am a smoker. But the current state of this law is still shady, so fix this, as it affects everyone. The smokers in particular.
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