Air pollution a threat to children's mental health - Roses And Thorns byAlejandro R. Roces

Last week, Health Secretary Alberto Romualdez told the nation that about two million Filipinos are afflicted with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and that this number was expected to increase -- all because of smoking and air pollution. Way back in the 16th century, King James I of England described smoking as "a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless."

Why, then, have governments all over the world put up with smoking for half a millennium? Napoleon III provided the answer to that question. "The vice," he said, "brings in one hundred million francs in taxes every year. I will certainly forbid it at once -- as soon as you name one virtue that brings in as much revenue."

In the case of smoking, people have a choice. They can opt to be smokers or not. Although even in this, it has a problem. Some non-smokers have to inhale the smoker's smoke. Sad to say, many persist to smoke even in non-smoking places. A classic story is that of Thomas Beecham, the British conductor. He was in a non-smoking compartment in a train and a smoker asked him whether he minded if he smoked.

"Certainly not," Beecham responded, "if you don't object to my getting sick."

Two days ago, Environment Secretary Antonio Cerilles addressed an Asian Development Bank conference that leaded fuel exposure has caused Metro Manila children an average loss of five IQ points with those directly exposed to vehicle emissions losing even more. He added that the estimated cost of premature deaths due to lead exposure amounts to P2.8 billion while the cost in lower intelligence has been estimated to as high as P3.18 billion!

We are glad that the gasoline companies fast-tracked the phasing out of leaded fuel nine months ahead of the January 2001 deadline mandated by the Clean Air Act. The next step is to further reduce pollution by seeing to it that only properly-maintained vehicles are allowed on our roads. Pollution is a problem that affects the health of each and every person in the community. We would like to know, the Health Department's long-range program to minimize pollution in Metro Manila and in rural areas. Every barangay must be made conscious of the problem.