MANILA, July 21 — Some 1.5 million Filipinos will be protected from developing illnesses linked to smoking in the next five years with the trio of tobacco control policies now in place, Health Secretary Dr. Paulyn Ubial said Friday.
“Our projection is that in the next five years, we would have reduced smoking prevalence in the country by another 8 percent. More or less, that would be 1.5 million Filipinos who will stop smoking or will not start smoking,” Ubial said in an interview.
The trio of tobacco control policies she was referring to are the ban on smoking in public places, which takes effect on Sunday (July 23), the Sin Tax Law, and the Graphic Health Warning Law.
Executive Order 26, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last May 16, prohibits smoking in enclosed public places and public conveyances. It states that only one designated smoking area will be allowed in a building.
The EO also forbids selling and distributing tobacco products to minors, who are not allowed to smoke, sell or buy cigarettes or other tobacco products. It likewise bars anyone from ordering a minor to use, light up, buy, sell, distribute, deliver, advertise or promote tobacco products.
The order further bans the sale and distribution of tobacco products, along with their ads and promotional materials in schools, playgrounds, youth hostels, recreational facilities and other areas frequented by minors, or within a 100-meter radius of these places.
The implementation of the nationwide smoking ban is expected to reinforce efforts to reduce the prevalence of smoking in the country and protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke that can result in tobacco-related illnesses.
Ubial said their estimate was based on the reduction of smokers as seen in the recent Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) results.
“From the 2009 survey to 2015 when the next survey was done, there were a million smokers who actually quit. That’s a decrease of about 5 percentage points,” she said.
It was in that period that the Sin Tax Reform Law, which raised the prices of cigarette products, took effect.
Just last year, the Graphic Health Warning (GHW) Law that requires all cigarette products to bear picture warnings on the ill effects of smoking, was implemented.
While its impact is being monitored, the law is expected to help deter the youth from becoming future smokers through the pictures that show the health consequences of smoking. (Leilani S. Junio/PNA)