Catholic university, BARMM health workers unite against vape use, smoking

COTABATO CITY— Central Mindanao’s pioneer Catholic university, the Bangsamoro health ministry, the Cotabato Regional Medical Center and leading broadcast outfits in Cotabato City launched on Thursday an anti-vape and smoking campaign in the city and in provinces around.

Around a thousand students of the Notre Dame University here of the Vatican-based Oblates of Mary Immaculate congregation pledged support to such an initiative during a two-hour symposium in their campus on Thursday morning.

Bangsamoro Health Minister Kadil Monera Sinolinding Jr., the physician Adlyn Bernaldez of CRMC, which is the biggest government medical service outfit here, and Ma. Theresa Llano, who is overseeing NDU’s Office of Student Affairs, took turns talking about the bad effects of addiction to vape and cigarettes during the two-our event.

Bernaldez then talked about the many patients admitted in recent months in the CRMC for having been afflicted with ailments related to smoking and use of vapes, now a fad among students in Cotabato City and nearby provinces.

Sinolinding, a physician-ophthalmologist and a concurrent member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament, told reporters after their activity at the NDU covered court in Cotabato City that their campaign shall cover all the six provinces and three cities in the autonomous region.

“This is parallel with the national government’s anti-vape and anti-smoking campaigns. We are thankful to different agencies and private organizations and to our regional chief minister, Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, for supporting this initiative,” Sinolinding said.

Reporters of different broadcast outfits here, including Station DXMY of the Radio Mindanao Network, the Catholic Station DXMS, the Dear FM Station in Kabacan town in Cotabato province and Stations 95.1 TM FM  and Magnet DXMM vowed to support the anti-smoking and anti-vaping campaign of the Ministry of Health-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.