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MANILA – On July 22, or this coming Saturday, the executive order (EO) prohibiting smoking in all public places in the Philippines will be implemented.
The Department of Health has recently clarified the date of the effectivity of EO No. 26.
The assumption that the EO will be in full effect starting July 15, or last Saturday, was based on the date President Rodrigo Duterte signed the order — May 16 — according to Dr. Eric Tayag, Health department spokesperson.
But the “implementation will be July 22,” Tayag clarified. “The effectivity … is 60 days after publication (in newspapers), not after signing.”
EO No. 26 establishes “smoke-free environments in public and enclosed places.”
It prohibits smoking in public areas, including hospitals, clinics, laboratories, schools, stairways, elevators, and areas where food is prepared, among others.
The EO does not completely ban smoking.
Establishments may allow smoking within their premises provided that designate a smoking area, the EO said.
But these designated smoking areas, or DSAs, must be inaccessible to nonsmokers, especially minors, to protect them from secondhand smoke, it added.
A nationwide ban on smoking in public places was one of the promises Duterte made while campaigning for the presidency.
The Health department considers the EO a boost to its continuous campaign to curb illnesses linked to smoking. (With a report from Philippine News Agency/PN)
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