Reversing the mortality path

In a news report I read recently, a smoking ban imposed in a city in the United States led to a dramatic reduction in heart attack cases within three years. This report, resulting from a study made by a team of researchers, proves that smoking is a serious health threat. In this study, hospitalization cases in Pueblo, Colorado dropped by 41 percent during the three-year smoking ban. The researchers noted that there was no such decline in two neighboring areas, and they believe this is a clear indication that the ban was responsible.              

It is widely accepted that smoking is one of the leading causes of deaths worldwide, accounting for approximately 54 million casualties all over the world. Here in the Philippines, around 75,000 people die annually because of tobacco use. Many of these people died during their productive, middle-aged lives and the loss of productivity because of these deaths, aside from the subsequent health care costs, produces important economic consequences for any country. Suffice it to say, smoking has become a major contributing factor to the depletion of any country’s resources, whether it is human or economic.

Smoking is the major cause of many diseases such as acute bronchitis, emphysema, cancers of the nose, pharynx, larynx and lungs, and different types of heart diseases like atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, and stroke. In fact, tobacco use has become the leading cause of preventable deaths in the world. It is not surprising that health care companies are becoming more and more biased against enrolling members who are smokers due to the expected illnesses they would have. On a larger scale, smoking is a major health hazard that entails economic costs resulting from a decreased productivity and health of the population as well as the increased threat to environment because of pollution. It would therefore be logical for any country to establish measures that would counteract this problem. A smoking ban in public places would certainly contribute in reducing smoking rates among smokers and protect non-smokers as well.

We are glad that a few cities here have already imposed the smoking ban like Davao, Makati, Marikina, Puerto Princesa, Quezon City, Manila and Taguig. We would like to see more city mayors follow the footsteps taken by the mayors of these cities. Nowadays, treatment for diseases has become very expensive and inaccessible for many people. We should therefore focus more on the prevention of these diseases.

We note the efforts of the Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco T. Duque III in promoting a healthy lifestyle among Filipinos and the prevention of chronic diseases. His Healthy Lifestyle Campaign “HL to the Max” will be launched this Feb. 16 and will promote seven major healthy practices: No Smoking, No Drinking of Alcohol, No to Illegal Drugs, Eat the Right Food, Prevent Hypertension, Exercise and Stress Management. Our politicians, media and other stakeholders should likewise join actively in this campaign to ban smoking and promote a healthy lifestyle. A healthy population makes a progressive nation.