Vizcaya smoking ban nets 100 violators

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – At least 100 persons were apprehended in a week for smoking in public areas amid the provincial government’s intensified enforcement of what could be the country’s first serious drive against smoking in public places.

Police said most of the violators of the province’s anti-smoking ordinance were from the commercial town of Solano, one of the first local government units to adopt the ban since its province-wide enforcement last month.

Known as the “Smoke-Free Ordinance of Nueva Vizcaya,” its enforcement took effect Nov. 23 following a series of information drives about the ordinance by the provincial government in partnership with the Department of Health and various anti-smoking advocates.

“There’s no one exempted here. We are serious in our campaign against smoking in public. Even I myself am not exempted from the ban,” said Gov. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma.

Ordinance No. 2010-049, which the Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed in March this year, prohibits smoking in public places, including public con­veyances, except for a few smoking areas designated by local authorities.

Under the ordinance, any person caught smoking in public places outside of designated smoking areas is fined P1,500 fine for the first offense, P2,500 for the second offense and P5,000 for the third.

Crafted in accordance with Republic Act 8749 (The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999) and Republic Act 9211 (The Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003), the ordinance envisions to transform Nueva Vizcaya as a smoke-free province in five years time.