Pursuant to Department of Education (DepEd) Order No. 73, smoking shall be banned in all public schools throughout the country, effective at the start of School Year 2010-2011.

The directive seeks to protect school children, in particular, from inhaling second-hand smoke, which is more dangerous than first-hand smoke. The “Smoking Ban in Public Schools” covers all members of the school community – students, teachers, administrators, and non-teaching staff.

The order prohibits smoking in open or covered areas in school premises, and directs principals and school heads to put up “No Smoking” signs in strategic and prominent areas inside the campus. School administrators are also urged to install signs saying, “You are entering a no-smoking area” at all the gates and entrances of the school.

The smoking ban reiterates and seeks to reinforce earlier department orders, specifically, DepEd Order No. 62 (issued in 2007), “Integration of the Hazardous Effects of Smoking in the School Curricula," and DepEd Order No. 33 (issued in 2003), "Youth Smoking Prevention.” The former mandated the schools to integrate in the basic education curriculum the adverse effects of cigarette or tobacco smoking on the health, environment, and economy, while the latter prohibited the smoking and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in public and private campuses, buildings, offices, and premises of the division, regional, and national offices. It complemented many city ordinances that prohibit the selling of cigarettes within a 100-meter radius from a school’s perimeter fence.

The continuing campaign to eliminate smoking in public schools and thereby minimize, if not eliminate, the hazards caused by smoking among elementary and high school students and school employees, addresses a major concern of the Department of Health and supports the global program of the World Health Organization. Considering that millions of people die annually around the world from diseases caused by tobacco use and addiction, the DepEd initiative is a welcome move to curb the habit among the young. Private schools, colleges, and universities as well as state universities and colleges that have not done so would do well to consider becoming smoke-free campuses.