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AT least
14 hotels and restaurants have committed to a total
smoking ban on Thursday to mark World No-Tobacco Day,
the Department of Health (DOH) announced on Monday.
“We are
considering these turn of events as a
high point
in the government’s campaign for a healthy lifestyle.
Smoking is indeed deadly, even in its second-hand form,”
said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
At
present, the economic burden caused by first-hand
smoking alone in the Philippines is estimated to be at
US$6 billion a year.
The
Framework Convention Alliance Philippines (FCAP) said
among the establishments declared smoke-free on May 31
are Dusit Hotel,
Intercontinental Hotel, Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Le
Soufflé Restaurant and Renaissance Hotel in
Makati.
Other
hotels in Quezon City, Pasay, Mandaluyong and
Manila
have also committed to ban smoking on that day.
Meanwhile, Marco Polo Hotel and Le Soufflé in
Makati City
and Fernandina Suites 88 in Quezon City have declared
their establishments smoke-free even after May 31.
This is
the first time private establishments have responded
positively to the campaign against smoking; only a few
firms are complying with the law that bans tobacco use
in public areas.
The
World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that
governments require all indoor areas—businesses,
workplaces, schools and hospitals—to be smoke-free.
Dr. Jean
Marc Olivé, WHO’s representative to the Philippines,
said banning smoking in public places is not meant to
infringe on the rights of tobacco users but to protect
second-hand smokers.
“Smoking
bans are not about infringing rights. They are about
protecting people’s health,” said Olivé, adding that
“there is no safe level of human exposure to second-hand
tobacco smoke.”
Second-hand smoke causes at least 200,000 deaths in the
world’s workplaces, 14 percent of all work-related
deaths caused by diseases, and 2.8 percent of lung
cancers, according to the WHO.
Many of
these workers are personnel manning restaurants and
entertainment joints.
There
are a total of 4,000 known chemicals in cigarettes, of
which more than 50 are cancerous. |
