Noy's cough during SONA may be due to smoking - cancer survivors

MANILA, Philippines - A group of throat cancer survivors expressed concern that President Benigno Aquino III's coughing throughout his State of the Nation Address may be due to his smoking habits.

Emer Rojas, president of New Vois Association of the Philippines and a Global Cancer Ambassador, took notice of the times that Aquino had to pause and cough during his nearly two-hour speech before lawmakers on Monday.

“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,” Rojas said in a news release.

“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,” added Rojas, who speaks using an electronic device called an electrolarynx after losing his vocal cords to the deadly vice.

Health advocates, including Philippine Medical Association (PMA) vice president Leo Olarte, have since urged Aquino to quit smoking.

Malacañang had said that Aquino is not ready to quit his habit.

“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," Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said late last year.

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Meanwhile, Rojas expressed optimism that Aquino would support calls for the placement of graphic health warnings on cigarette packs even if he did not mention this during the SONA.

“We 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,” Rojas ends.

Health Justice project manager lawyer Diana Trivino earlier said that the Philippines remains as the top tobacco-consuming country in Southeast Asia and is among the top 20 smoking nations around the world.

Related story: ‘Slowing down on smoking won’t lessen health risks’

Rojas also claimed that according to the Department of Health, Filipino smokers consume around 1,073 cigarette sticks a day while other smokers in Southeast Asia puff less than a thousand annually.

"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,” said Rojas.