A day after it floated the idea of designating urinals as smoking areas, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Wednesday dropped the proposal following negative feedback from health practitioners.
“It was just a proposal. We will no longer push through with it,” MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said. Earlier on Tuesday in a forum in Quezon City, Tolentino said they were studying the possibility of using public urinals on sidewalks as smoking areas.
He said the smoke would help reduce the smell inside the urinals. But this was immediately opposed by medical experts, who pointed to the health hazards that could arise from turning urinals into smoking areas.
The health practitioners explained that people using the urinals might develop cigarette-related respiratory diseases if they inhale the smoke there.—Tina G. Santos