Starting this coming school year, nobody is allowed to smoke cigarettes or tobacco products inside the school premises.

The announcement was made after the Department of Education (DepEd) instructed all principals and school heads to prohibit smoking inside the campus including open or covered spaces around school buildings.

Education Secretary Mona Valisno said the DepEd order No. 73 or “Smoking Ban in Public Schools” which was released in June 4, ordered public schools to ban smoking in public schools effective immediately.

“There have been existing DepEd orders on smoking ban but with this, we want to affirm that the schools – including the students, teachers, and non-teaching staff – are covered,” she said.

Valisno ensured that the DepEd will be strict in implementing the smoking ban in all school premises “to protect our school children from inhaling second hand smoke.” 

She also instructed regional and division officials to oversee the implementation of this order in their respective school areas and territories.

The DepEd order stated that “smoking will be prohibited even in open or covered areas around the school premises.” Principals and school heads are strictly advised to put “no smoking” signs at prominent places inside the campus. “They should also put up a sign saying ‘You are entering a no smoking area’ especially in the side entrances and school gates,” Valisno said.

According to Assistant Secretary and DepEd Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya, any student caught violating the no-smoking rule will be brought to the principal's office. “Even teachers and employees are covered by the no-smoking rule and those who will violate the rule will get a warning that may lead to suspension in case of repeated offenses,” he said.

DepEd also encouraged private schools to adopt the smoking ban in public schools. The smoking ban is DepEd’s continuous campaign to eliminate smokers inside the campus and lessen the effect of smoking among students and teachers.

In 2007, the Department released DepEd Order No. 62 or the “Integration of the Hazardous Effects of Smoking in the School Curricula” which mandated the schools to integrate the adverse effects of cigarette or tobacco smoking in the health, environment and economy in the basic education curriculum.

Since 2003, school premises have also been declared as “No Smoking Areas” or “Zones of Health” through DepEd Order No. 33 or the “Youth Smoking Prevention” program which prohibited smoking and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products inside public and private campuses, buildings, offices, including the premises and buildings of the division, regional and national offices. Other smoking ban orders were also released in DECS Order No. 63, s. 1998 and DECS Order No. 2, s. 1991 which prohibited smoking in all offices under the Education Department.

Public school teachers like Melanie Santos lauded the smoking ban as smoking endangers the health of people, whether students or adults. “Non-smokers like me appreciate this order so much because we can avoid conflict with other teachers who are smokers. At least, with this order, they won’t take it against us if we ask them not to smoke within school premises,” she explained in Filipino.

Currently, many city ordinances have also been made to prohibit the selling of cigarettes within the 100-meter radius from a school’s perimeter fence.

Health experts say that carbon monoxide absorbed in the blood through smoking is 200 times faster than oxygen. This could affect one’s health including the brain, the liver which could no longer function properly as well as the healthy glow of the skin. “We want to ensure that our teachers especially our students are free from the adverse effects of smoking by prohibiting the act inside the campus,” Valisno ended.