SP approves city tobacco control office

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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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ILOILO City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) approved an ordinance creating the Tobacco Control Office.
It will institutionalize the Iloilo City Anti-Smoking Task Force (ICAST) and enforce the anti-smoking ordinance of the city government, according to Councilor Joshua Alim who proposed the office’s creation.
Alim used to chair the ICAST that Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog created through an executive order.
“(The) momentum showed by ICAST…must not be hampered” should there be changes in the direction or priority of the city government, stressed the city council.
The program to make Iloilo City smoke-free “must continue regardless of change(s) in leadership,” it added.
The Department of Health has recognized this city government program by bestowing the Red Orchid Award to the city government.
The award is annually given to cities, municipalities, government offices and health facilities that are strictly enforcing tobacco control measures.
The Tobacco Control Office will be composed of the city mayor as chairperson, the executive director, secretariat and agents of ICAST.
ICAST executive director Iñigo Garingalao said the Tobacco Control Office will make the task force more efficient.
The SP’s approval of its creation came at a time when calls for a nationwide smoking ban were getting stronger.
“Even after I was stripped of the ICAST chairmanship (last year), I continue to reprimand people I see smoking in public places,” said Alim.
Regulation Ordinance 2013-348 prohibits smoking in public places and conveyances. The Iloilo City government wants to make the city 100-percent smoke-free.
According to Health secretary Pauline Jean Ubial who once served as assistant regional director of the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas, President Duterte is set to sign an executive order on the nationwide smoking ban.
At least 10 Filipinos die every hour from tobacco-related diseases, Ubial said.
In a 2015 study, Western Visayas ranked third among regions with a high percentage of youth smokers (15 to 24 years old), said John Lapascua, senior health program officer of DOH Region 6.
“In Region 6, 22.1 percent of our youth are smokers; that’s one in every five students or two in every 10 students,” said Lapascua.
In Davao City where Duterte served as mayor for some three decades, an anti-smoking ordinance had been in effect since 2002. He vowed to replicate the ban on a national scale.
The ordinance prohibits smoking in government-owned vehicles, accommodation and entertainment establishments, partially enclosed public spaces, public buildings and public outdoor spaces.
Davao City residents are also prohibited from smoking in concerts, rallies, and other public gatherings./PN

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