PMA, anti-tobacco group score Ona for belittling MMDA smoking ban

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP) expressed dismay yesterday over what they perceive as Health Secretary Enrique Ona’s belittling of the smoking ban implemented by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The two groups were reacting to Ona’s pronouncement last Friday that the MMDA should not just go after smokers but smoke-belchers and other polluters as well. Ona said the ban would not really stop people from smoking.

In separate statements, PMA and FCAP reminded Ona that as a doctor and as the secretary of the Department of Health (DOH), it is his responsibility to “stop the senseless killings caused by tobacco smoke.”

“We are saddened by statements of Secretary Ona… implying that implementing smoke-free public places is not enough because smoke caused by factories and vehicles are more dangerous than cigarette smoke,” said PMA’s Philippine College of Chest Physicians president Dr. Encarnita Limpin.

Limpin noted that it is “clearly ironic that instead of supporting the initiatives of private citizens on tobacco control, the good secretary chose to toe the line of the tobacco industry, which is to downplay the impact of these measures on public health.”

She said Ona’s statement “virtually supported the tobacco industry’s relentless efforts to undermine the smoke-free policy of the government.”

According to FCAP president Marilyn Lorenzo, Ona’s statement is alarming.