World No-Tobacco Day

The health risks posed by cigarette smoking have long been known. Although many smokers ignored the risks, others quit or reduced their nicotine intake. Knowledge of the health risks also led to measures meant to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke. In the United States, tobacco companies are losing litigation filed by people suffering from smoking-related diseases. Airlines have non-smoking flights. Several countries strictly enforce no-smoking areas especially in public places.

Despite such measures, the World Health Organization estimates that 3.5 million people die each year from tobacco-related illnesses, with the number expected to increase to 10 million in 30 years. In the Philippines, the Department of Health reported that smoking-related illnesses claim at least 20,000 lives annually -- an average of two deaths every hour. A five-year study started in 1994 by the DOH showed that 53 percent of all male Filipinos and 18 percent of females smoke. Around 33 percent of adults smoke, while youths from 7 to 17 years old are smokers, the DOH study showed.

To each his own poison, some smokers like to say. They argue that they have a right to smoke even if it may put their lungs, heart and brain at risk as health officials have warned, and even if there will be incontrovertible proof directly linking cigarette smoke to cancer. There are smokers who are fully aware of the risks and choose to ignore them. But others, especially the very young, need to be made aware of the dangers posed by smoking. More warnings are also needed on the hazards of second-hand smoke, which can affect even infants in a household where there are smokers.

The DOH has launched a campaign to deglamorize smoking and inform the public, particularly the youth, about the hazards of this habit. Congress is also moving to raise public awareness about the health risks posed by cigarette smoke to smokers and non-smokers alike. As World No- Tobacco Day is observed today, the government can commit to keep the public fully informed about the hazards of smoking. Old habits are hard to break, and there are people who won't give up smoking even if it is linked to every life-threatening disease. But with sufficient information, there are those who may think twice before inhaling that smoke.