Pag-ubo ni PNoy sa SONA, dahil sa yosi?

MANILA, Philippines – Nababahala ang isang grupo ng mga throat cancer survivors sa pag-ubo ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III sa kanyang State of the Nation Address nitong kamakalawa sa Batasang Pamban sa Quezon City.

Sa tingin ng grupong New Vois Association of the Philippines ay maaaring may kinalaman ito sa paninigarilyo ni Aquino.

NitongLunes habang inilalahad ni Aquino ang kalagayan ng bansa ay napansin ni Emer Rojas, pinuno ng grupo at ambassador ng Global Cancer, ang pagtigil ni Aquino sa pagsasalita dahil sa  matinding pag-ubo.

“It concerns us that this might be due to his smoking habit. I am not a doctor but we all know that smoking causes respiratory problems. We need a healthy president so that he can continue his programs for health including tobacco control initiatives,” pahayag ni Rojas.

“In fairness to the president, he coughed less this time compared to last year’s SONA. We still admire him for his political will to support health over tobacco even if he admits being a smoker,” dagdag ni Rojas na nagsasalita na lamang sa pamamagitan ng electrolarynx, isang electronic device, matapos mawalan ito ng vocal cords dahil sa paninigarilyo.

Sa pag-upo pa lamang ni Aquino sa puwesto noong 2010 ay ilang beses na siyang pinayuhan ng mga health advocates, kabilang si Philippine Medical Association (PMA) vice president Leo Olarte na tigilan na ang paninigarilyo.

Sinabi naman ng Palasyo na hindi ito kayang sundin ni Aquino.

“At a certain point, he would like to quit but right now, this is what de-stresses him. So let us allow the President to find a way. He knows what is important," komento ni Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda noong nakaraang taon.

Kaugnay na balita: Palace: Noy not ready to quit smoking Primary tabs

Samantala, umaasa pa rin si Rojas na ipapatupad ng gobyerno ang paglalagay ng larawan ng mga epekto ng paninigarilyo sa bawat pakete ng sigarilyo.

 â€œWe were hoping that he would reiterate his administration’s commitment to health by supporting tobacco control efforts like the proposed graphic health warnings. The approval of the sin tax was a milestone for this administration despite a very strong tobacco lobby. We still believe that the president is committed to stronger anti-smoking policies even if he is not yet ready to kick the habit,” sabi ni Rojas.

Sinabi naman ni Health Justice project manager lawyer Diana Trivino na nangunguna pa rin ang Pilipinas bilang top tobacco-consuming country sa Southeast Asia at kabilang ang bansa sa top 20 smoking nations sa buong mundo.

Dagdag ni Rojas na 1,073 stick ng sigarilyo ang hinihipak ng mga Pilipino sa isang araw, habang wala pang isang libo ang ginagamit ng mga nalalabing bansa sa Southeast Asia, ayon sa pag-aaral ng Department of Health.

"We don’t only have high volume of tobacco consumption but we also have a huge number of children addicted to nicotine with more than one in four kids aged 13-15 years old already smoking,” sabi ni Rojas.