4 M Pinoy youths smoke cigarettes

MANILA, Philippines – A growing number of young Filipinos are picking up the smoking habit after being influenced by advertisements, an official of anti-smoking lobby Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance-Philippines (FCAP) said yesterday.

Four million Filipino youth, aged between 11 to 19, are smokers, according to FCAP executive director Maricar Limpin, citing the 2007 Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) commissioned by the World Health Organization and the health department.

The youth group made up 23 percent of all Filipino smokers, compared to about 18 percent in 2005.

“This 23 percent could further increase in a matter of three years,” said Limpin.

Eight of 10 Filipino teenagers have seen a tobacco advertisement over the past year, according to the study. Out of the four million youth smokers, 1.4 million are girls.

“For teens, just one stick can lead to another stick, until they become addicted to cigarettes. So it is really important to prevent our youths from starting to smoke,” Limpin noted during the press briefing.

Limpin projected a rise, saying few local governments were enforcing a law banning outdoor advertising of tobacco that went into effect in mid-2007.

“Tobacco advertising has powerful effects among our youths. If we can regulate this advertisement as mandated by Republic Act 9211, we will surely be able to bring down tobacco consumption in the Philippines,” she added.

FCAP is strongly pushing for the banning of outdoor tobacco billboards and signboards to limit Filipinos’ access to cigarette advertisements. Under the law, the ban was supposed to start on July 1, 2007 but it has yet to be fully implemented.

Limpin lauded Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim for making the city “100 percent free” of illegal cigarette billboards. She expressed hope that other local leaders will follow suit for the sake of the youth.

Dr. Mario Juico, president of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians, said they have observed that lung cancer patients are getting younger.

Government data show smoking is linked to five of the top 10 leading causes of death in the Philippines, where up to 35 percent of the country’s 89 million people are tobacco users.  – Sheila Crisostomo