This is the banner that unites the local government units (LGUs) across the country. It is a fact that smoking is detrimental not only to those who finds pleasure in a five to 10 minutes huff and puff but also to those who can’t hide away from the grayish cloud of toxins, 400 deadly chemicals, emitted not by the car’s accelerators, rather, the pouty and (once) kissable lips.

This alarming fact is what drives the creation of Republic Act No. 9211, otherwise known as the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003. It states that "it is the policy of the State to protect the populace from hazardous products and promote the right to health and instill health consciousness among them." Thus, the government saw the need to institute a balanced policy on the sale and advertisements of tobacco products and ensure the health and welfare of the people.

In a meeting with the local press, representatives from the different LGUs, non-government organizations (NGOs), the National Institutes of Health-UP Manila, the Department of Health (DOH) and the World Health Organization gather to discuss updates and hindrances on the implementation of the law as well as the milestones of several key cities like Makati, Davao, Iloilo, and Legazpi in its smoke-free campaign.

In the discussion dubbed as ‘Advancing Tobacco Control Initiatives in the Cities: Towards Model Building of Local Tobacco Control Initiatives’, Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo, a Philippine representative to the Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) says that the people deserves protection from cigarette smoke and its ill effects. He further explains that even without the local ordinances from the LGUs, RA 9211 is a national law that needs to be implemented.

However, Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal explains that the creation of local ordinances and special body for the implementation of the national law strengthens and supplements it and further explains that its implementation is more of a political will.

According to Atty. Alexander Padilla, DOH undersecretary, "Ang susi ay nasa LGUs." They are responsible for the implementation of the laws." While according to Iloilo Councilor Julienne Baronda (also the Chair of the Anti-Smoking Task Force of Iloilo City), since the start of the anti-smoking campaign, many tobacco companies are lobbying to delay the anti-tobacco initiatives. Dr. Dorotheo adds that the tobacco industry is trying to influence the local government by buying their silence through good work.

Despite the hindrances, Mayor Rosal shares that to further educate the residents of Legazpi, they sponsor sports tournaments and directly go to the variety stores to implement the ordinance in the grass roots level. The City Health Officer (CHO) of Makati Dra. Ma. Lourdes Salud on the other hand reports that P4 million are collected by the city government from the dues and penalties from the smoking violations. She happily shares that the 160 designated smoking areas before went down to 84, and that the number of individual violations are lessened. This, she says, is the fruit of the city’s effort and strict implementation of the law.

Dra. Maricar Limpin, president of the NGO named Convention Alliance Philippines (CAP), reports that the month of August is the start of a smoke-free Quezon City Memorial Circle. She says that the Memorial Circle is an important landmark and a place for family recreation. Hence, the strict implementation of the smoke-free rule in the Memorial Circle is just the start of more initiatives in the near future. In addition, Dra. Limpin also shares that the University of the Philippines (UP) across the country passed and signed a memorandum making all campuses smoke-free. "We need to commend the people behind this for seeing the light," she laughs.

Bungon Ritthphakdee, coordinator for the Southeast Asian Tobacco Council Alliance (SEATCA), reiterates that the issue for a smoke-free environment lies not only at the hands of the LGUs but on the (tobacco) industry also. "The industries need to follow and respect the law," she says and further explains that in Thailand, the law requires the printing of a picture warning attached to the package of every cigarette case but ironically, the packages are printed in the Philippines while the one distributed in the Philippines does not contain any picture warnings.

To further document the ill effects of tobacco smoking, SEATCA published the ASEAN Tobacco Control Report Card where the Philippines ranks second from Indonesia with a 46.16 percent and 16.62 percent of adult smokers respectively. It shows that out of 9,072,287 populations of the Philippines, 34.80 percent or almost 21 million adult Filipinos smoke while 30.6 percent are from the age 13 to 15.

Because of these alarming figures, the WHO ratified and passed the world’s first international health treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The treaty according to Dra. Domilyn Villarreiz, program officer of WHO, requires the countries to restraint tobacco advertisements, sponsorships and promotions, thus, eventually lessens the number of people who smoke.

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