By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Philippine Daily InquirerFirst
Posted 22:50:00 09/27/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Every six minutes, a Filipino dies of a smoking-related illness and the Department of Health believes passing the bill which seeks to use graphic-based health warnings on cigarette packs could help solve the problem.
In a statement on Saturday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III appealed for the passage of House Bill No. 3364 or the Graphic Health Warning Bill in Congress as the World Health Organization also warned that more efforts were needed to combat smoking which is estimated to kill a billion people this century.
“The DoH hopes that the bill would be passed against all odds. We fully support the bill in its entirety,” Duque said.
In a separate statement, the WHO also warned that 80 percent of the one billion people are estimated to die because of smoking in developing countries.
It noted that the Philippines was among the countries with “the greatest number of smokers, the highest rates of male smoking prevalence, and the fastest increase of tobacco uptake by women and young people.”
The WHO also said that smoking does not only jeopardize human health, but that of the economy as well in terms of health care.
Duque said that the country spends more than P280 billion every year to treat people with smoking-related diseases.
“Tobacco use disproportionately hurts the poor and deepens poverty by siphoning off money needed for basic necessities such as food, shelter, and education and killing wage earners in the prime of their lives,” Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, said in a statement.
Citing 2003 WHO figures, the DoH said the Philippines ranked fifth in the world with the highest number of adult male smokers and 26th among countries with the biggest number of female adult smokers.
The country also ranked second and fourth among countries with the highest number of girls and boys who smoke.
The DoH reminded legislators that the country has ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that seeks to reduce cigarette consumption.
The convention has been signed by 160 countries and calls for, among other measures, appropriate packaging and labeling of tobacco products.
Duque said researches have shown that a graphic health warning on cigarette packs “is one of the best measures to prevent people from nicotine addiction.”
One of the few countries which implement graphic health warnings is Singapore, where gory images of people suffering from smoking-related illnesses are shown on the packs.
Health Undersecretary Alexander Padilla also said the country has ratified international covenants on rights of women and children, whose rights are affected “through second-hand smoke, targeted marketing, child labor, green tobacco sickness, and diverting family income needed for food and education to satisfy an addiction for nicotine.
- an article from Inquirer.net
Almost everyone knows that smoking is bad for our health. It only causes damage that is incurable. But why do many still engage in this bad habit? The only preferable answer is addiction. Once you start, it’s hard to stop. People start smoking for different reasons. Some are curious; some think it’s cool. Others start smoking because of family and peer pressure. But what may be the reasons are, it can only lead to these effects. Smoking results to cancer and other long-term health problems that can shorten a life of a person and ensues death.
Firstly, smokers especially teen smokers develop bad skin, bad breath, yellow teeth, pale gums, bad smelling clothes and hair, reduced athletic performance, greater risk of injury, slower healing time, and increased risk of illness. All of these just because of nicotine and other toxins in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes that affect a person’s body quickly.
Secondly, smoking can cause emphysema and heart attack. Emphysema is a progressive lung disease that results in shortness of breath and reduces the capacity of physical activity. Smoking damages small air sacs and small airways in one’s lungs that block airflow when one exhales.
Also, smoking is a major cause of coronary artery disease. In CAD, the heart becomes starved of oxygen and vital nutrients because of clogged and narrowed arteries. A person’s risk of heart attack greatly increases with the number of cigarettes he or she smokes. Smokers continue to increase their risk of heart attack the longer they smoke.
Lastly, smoking can cause lung cancer. Lung cancer is the rapid growth of abnormal cells in the lung. It can start anywhere in the lungs and affect any part of the respiratory system. It is also one of the most common cancers in the world. It is a leading cause of cancer death in men and women. Cigarette smoking causes most lung cancers. The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer.In addition to that, not only the smokers are prone to lung cancer. Second hand smokers or the people who inhale the smoke are also prone to lung cancer.
The thing is, smoking does not do anything good to anyone. It doesn’t at any cost bring any kind of superb effects. It only causes destruction to mankind. Imagine a lifetime suffering in exchange fo a moment of satisfaction, pathetic isnt it? It not only wastes one’s money, it also wastes one’s life. So before engaging in such vices, think twice. Think about yourself, think about the people around you.
Sources:
http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/tobacco/smoking.html
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080927-163320/Health-chief-urges-graphic-warnings-on-cigarette-packages
14 comments:
I think this topic has been exhaustively talked about already. We all know its bad to anyone's health.
As for the smokers, let them kill themselves. It's their lives anyway.
Smoking is quite a common habit already among people. Despite of the numerous articles and writings that warns them that smoking can kill them, they still continue. What can we do? It is their habit. Sadly, it is their way of life and smoking has been a part of the smoker's life. We may all feel weird, but as for smokers, their lives are incomplete without their cigarettes. It is like a food to them - a basic necessity to keep going.
Unfortunately, the threat to the smoker's life is also a burden to people around them. There are studies showing that it is actually worse for a passerby to inhale the smoke from the smoker's cigarette than himself to inhale and exhale after.
For me, even if the government made such advisory or warnings, it all depends on the people if they will take in that warning or not. you se, when people are addicted to something, no matter what you say and do, they will still keep on looking and searching for that thing. The only nice thing about the plan of the government is maybe through this, young people will not try to smoke anymore. But then again, if you really want it and you can't control yourself, warnings and advisory are no use.
I agree with the previous commentators. No matter how the government and other concerned citizens try to stop this "deadly vice", it still won't work unless the addicted person is REALLY willing to give it up. It's all just a matter of self initiative and determination to quit smoking.
Smokers know that smoking is dangerous for their health but still they continue to do it. maybe they have no concern for their own health, so lets not care nalang din.
i think there was a topic on smoking na before.
Smoking is actually present among teenagers these days. Some are really addicted to it and some would just do it for fun since smoking for them is considered to be "cool", but it's not. It may seem cool to others, but just look at its side effects after doing it. You might just regret it when you get older. There are people who used smoking as a habit and when they were in their senior year, they had a feeling of regret. It all depends on the person using it. we can't stop anyone doing it since if a person gets addicted to a thing, he/she could only control herself. Other people are just there to help them stop. if you care for your friends then influence them to stop or just help them to slow down a little bit until they themselves stop. The best way to stop is now and not later, tom or next week.. but now...
Smoking looks cool. That is one of the reasons why teenagers jump in this kind of vice. Honestly that is my reason when I started smoking and I was in high school back then but this topic is so talked about they you usually won't bother reading this kind of news but are people really aware of it?
You can't eliminate smoking. You can decrease the number of smokers but that will do some changes in the economy. So why not leave it the way it is? and sometimes I wonder why don't people talk about the positive effects of smoking sometimes to see the benefits that a smoker can get. just a thought
Smoking is bad, but how come Tobacco companies still produce these? If people are really concerned with smokers' lives, then they should stop producing these dangerous cigarettes.
We all know that most people are never satisfied and are easily tempted with these things.
The more we tell these people that it is bad, the more they are curious and would want to try it.
The only solution to stop these people from smoking if to stop the production of cigarettes in the whole country.
alam natin lahat na masama ang naidudulot nito sa ating katawan. mas masama pa nga para sa mga nakakalanghap nito pero wala parin silang pakealam sa mga maaaring maging epekto nito. ginagawa lang ito ng iba para magmukha silang 'cool' pero wala akong nakikitang pagiging cool doon.
I believe that the government doesn't have real intention to stop people smoking. This is for all the world, not only for the Philippines. Though they keep advertising that smoking is deadly, they actually allow people to buy tobacco in the store. Isn't it paradox? I believe the reason why they don't make a law about prohibition of smoking is because of money. Why should government let people stop smoking when they could earn much money from it?
That's why even though everyone knows that smoking is good-for-nothing thing, there would always be still tobacco at the store.
This bad habit is one of the top causes of cancer and death itself. You can't really control the people from not smoking except if the government will ban cigarettes in the country, IF THAT WILL HAPPEN. It is already up to the person who smokes and who will smoke what to do. People say that it is really addicting and it's hard to stop. But for me i really don't like it, even smelling the smoke because a relative of mine got sick and is gone because of it.
Why can't all of the smokers stop smoking already? There's nothing good in smoking cigarettes.
For everyone, smokers are not just killing themselves. In fact, second hand smoke can be deadlier and is affecting those around him.
Smokers are addicted to cigarettes, so they find it hard to quit their bad habit.
In addition, they are not also killing themselves but they are also affecting the health of those people who surround them.
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