Smoking ban on minors in Marikina

To commemorate Healthy Heart Month, the city government of Marikina has implemented a citywide smoking ban on minors.

Mayor Ma. Lourdes Fernando, who heads the newly-created Anti-Smoking Council, said that the campaign aims to educate minors about the harmful effects of cigarettes and prevent smoking-related diseases like cancer.

Alarmed by the increasing number of cancer victims, the City Council passed Ordinance No. 201 which prohibits minors aged 18 below from smoking while Ordinance No. 200 prohibits all commercial/business establishments from selling cigarettes and other tobacco products and paraphernalia to minors.

Marikina City is the pilot area of Health cities program of the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to Fernando, cancer is the number three killer in the city and number four in the national level.

During the recent launching of the campaign, some 7,000 students of Marikina High School and other schools regretted their early exposure to cigarettes, which commonly leads to passive smoking.

For establishments selling cigarettes to minors, the first offense would mean a P200 penalty. The second offense would cost the establishment P400 while the third offense P1,000 plus one week closure.

Minors caught smoking will undergo from eight to 16 hours of community service and proper counseling from religious groups.

Fernando said posters and flyers were already distributed to sari-sari stores in the city in a mass campaign of the Federation of Sangguniang Kabataan. – Non Alquitran