DOH seeks docs’ help in anti-smoking drive

Doctors who smoke should act as role models for the newly signed Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 by quitting the habit, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said yesterday.

Dayrit has written the Philippine Medical Association to ask the group to "police (their) ranks," said Dr. Jessica de Leon, a health promotion and education advisor of the Department of Health (DOH).

The health chief "said that doctors should act as models… But the DOH has no control over doctors so it’s more of a request, not an order," De Leon said.

A study from the World Health Organization (WHO) found that one out of three doctors smoke even in front of patients, she said. "It’s a global situation but applies also in the Philippines."

De Leon also said that smoke-cessation clinics are being established in at least 70 government-retained hospitals to assist smokers who want to kick the habit.

She added that the DOH expects all clinics to be put up by next year because the department has started conducting seminars for hospital personnel assigned to man the clinics.

"Smoking is an addiction, so it would not be easy for many people to kick the habit. They need our help and these clinics will provide them that," De Leon said.

She said that quitting is a struggle for many smokers because of the withdrawal symptoms.

"They can experience irritability and anxiety, and they tend to eat more so they get fat. In the cessation clinics, they will undergo nicotine-replacement therapy and counseling to encourage them to stop smoking," De Leon said.

Under the Tobacco Regulation Act (Republic Act 9211), expenses incurred by minors who voluntarily submit themselves to treatment at a smoke-cessation clinic should be reimbursed by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

The passage of RA 9211 is the government’s response to calls made by WHO for governments to control tobacco use.

Tobacco control advocates claim that every year, two Filipinos die of tobacco-related diseases such as lung cancer, heart ailments, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The DOH estimates that 30 percent of 82 million Filipinos smoke cigarettes.