SMOKING will never be tolerated in schools, and those who violate the policy can be suspended or dismissed, an education official warned. Department of Education (DepEd) 7 Director Recaredo Borgonia cited R.A.9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, which prohibits smoking in schools and other public places. He warned that students or teachers who smoke inside the school can be suspended or expelled.

DepEd Undersecretary Alberto Muyot recently issued a memorandum integrating the anti-smoking campaign into the Oplan Balik Eskwela program. “Habits are formed early in life,” Borgonia said. The government’s anti-smoking campaign is an inter-agency project of the DepEd, Department o Interior and Local Government, Department of Health and the Department of Trade and Industry.

R.A.9211 prohibits smoking in schools, youth hostels and recreational centers, elevators and stairwells, gas stations, hospitals, health centers, airports, ship terminals and bus terminals, among other places. Borgonia appealed to parents and local officials to help enforce the law.

Last year, the Cebu City Council passed an ordinance that prohibits smoking of cigarettes and other tobacco products in public conveyances and public facilities, including airport and ship terminals, bus stations, conference halls and even restaurants.

The measure provides for a designated smoking area, but it should be 10 meters away from entrances and exits of malls and commercial establishments, and should be enclosed and separate from the non-smoking areas.

Violating the ordinance could cost a smoker up to Php3,000.00 in penalties and imprisonment of up to six months. The DOH7 has reported that most of the people diagnosed with lung cancer are smokers.

Lung Cancer is one of the leading cancer deaths among men and women, and the steady increase in the number of people developing and dying from the disease reflects the delayed effects of increased smoking among Filipinos, according to the DOH.

At least 17,238 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year, and over 15,000 deaths due to lung cancer are expected every year.