MANILA, Philippines — Few students cope with the academic requirements, parental expectations, peer pressure and overwhelming curiosity which somehow makes them vulnerable to drug and alcohol abuse.

With this in mind, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago filed Senate Bill No. 3085, seeking the establishment and implementation of a national alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse program within all high schools, colleges and universities to help students manage the pressures of academic life by making access to professional help readily available.

“Undoubtedly, most schools have their own disciplinary measures imposed upon a student caught with tobacco, alcohol or drugs; most of these measures are variations of suspension or expulsion of the erring student,” Santiago said in the explanatory note of the bill.

“However, very few schools have the funds or competence to save the child through accessing professional help,” she observed.

Tobacco, she cited, is the single greatest cause of preventable death globally and its frequent use leads smokers susceptible to the most common diseases that affect the heart and lungs.

“Smoking (is) a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COP D) (including emphysema and chronic bronchitis), and cancer (particularly lung cancer, cancers of the larynx and mouth, and pancreatic cancer),” said Santiago.