Baguio: The city government's anti-smoking task force seized around PHP3 million worth of cigarettes from a seller found operating without a permit, the Public Information Office reported on Wednesday.

According to Philippines News Agency, City Information Officer Aileen Refuerzo stated that members of the deputized anti-smoking task force in Barangay Brookside discovered the illegal distribution and alerted the Smoke-Free Task Force. The task force swiftly implemented the city's anti-smoking ordinance on September 5.

The operation resulted in the confiscation of 33 boxes and 62 packs of cigarettes, which are now in the custody of the task force. The cigarette products were sealed and signed by officials from BCPO Station 6, Barangay Brookspoint kagawads, the Sanitation Division of the City Health Services Office, the Task Force Secretariat, and a representative of the tobacco company.

Verification revealed that the distributor lacked authorization from the city government's permits and licensing division. In response to such activities, the city government had earlier deputized volunteers, including barangay officials, to assist in enforcing the Smoke-Free Baguio ordinance.

Dr. Donnabel Tubera-Panes, tobacco control coordinator and head of the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit, asserted that the enforcement of the ordinance would continue. She emphasized that the city aims to make smoking increasingly difficult, thereby encouraging individuals to quit and reducing smoking-related diseases.