Baguio: There is no letup in the implementation of the anti-smoking campaign in this city, an official said Tuesday, vowing appropriate penalty for violators. "When the law is explicit, enforcement is unshakable. Compliance is not a courtesy. It is a legal and moral obligation and when obligations are broken, penalties must follow," Dr. Donnabel Tubera-Panes, City Tobacco Control Program coordinator and chief of the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit, said in a message sent to the Philippine News Agency. "Fines must be high enough to hurt," she added. "Enforcement must be felt."
According to Philippines News Agency, under the smoke-free Baguio ordinance, a business establishment must apply for a smoking area. An establishment providing one without local government authorization risks suspension of business permit or revocation for repeated offense. Of the hundreds of business establishments in Baguio which have permits to operate, only less than 10 have authorized smoking areas.
Panes said enforcement must always be supplemented by monitoring, evaluation, research, learning, and accountability. "We must track every violation, every penalty, every cost and use the data to sharpen our policies and strengthen advocacy, engage communities so compliance becomes self-sustaining and guard fiercely against tobacco industry interference," she said.
The implementation and enforcement of the smoke-free Baguio ordinance, which also covers vaping, is not limited to residents, Panes pointed out. "In our advocacy for a smoke-free Baguio, we do not exempt the tourists and the visitors because the cigarette, cigar and vape smoke they emit also affects the people of Baguio that is why we implement it for everyone to abide," she said.
She added that tourism stakeholders like hotels, restaurants, and other accommodation establishments, including the parks, are included in their information campaign. Aileen Refuerzo, Baguio's chief information officer, said the city's smoke-free policy implementation has been featured in the 9th Asia Pacific Smoke-free Meeting in Vietnam held Aug. 28 and 29, with about 160 leaders, advocates, and experts from Southeast Asia in attendance.
Refuerzo said participants in the event underscored the importance of smoke-free tourism policies that protect health, preserve culture, and boost economies. They committed to jointly act to propel Asia-Pacific, particularly the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as frontrunner in smoke-free tourism.
