1-day smoking ban backed

AN ANTISMOKING advocacy group has supported the proposal of a Cebu City lawmaker to ban the sale and smoking in public of cigarettes every 15th of the month.

The New Vois Association of the Philippines (NVAP) said it supported the “cigarette holiday” suggested by Cebu City Rep. Rodrigo Abellonasa in House Bill No. 41.

NVAP president Emer Rojas said the proposal would make people realize that it is possible to live for a day without the need to take a puff.

“The proposal to designate a day without cigarette smoking is laudable and should be supported. It will literally be a refreshing way to have an entire day without poisonous cigarette smoke,” he said.

The NVAP is an advocacy group for tobacco control, cancer and people with disabilities.

Abellonasa filed the measure seeking to ban cigarettes one day each month, with violators to face a P10,000 to P100,000 fine and a prison term ranging from one to six months. TVJ