Smokers told: Keep Christmas parties healthy

AN ANTISMOKING group on Tuesday urged merrymakers to keep Christmas parties and gatherings clean and healthy by not smoking.

New Vois Association of the Philippines president Emer Rojas said Monday the endless feasting on buffets and long conversations with family and friends during the holiday season usually accompany smoking, exposing loved ones and even children to the dangers of secondhand smoke.

“As we go to our string of Christmas get-togethers and parties, let us keep them smoke-free. It will not only be a good gift for ourselves to maintain good health but you also show care for your loved ones by protecting them from secondhand smoke,” said Rojas in a statement Tuesday.

Toxic

Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, of which hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Let us share [with] our loved ones, especially children, the gift of good health, by eliminating secondhand smoke in our parties. There is no safe level when it comes to inhaling tobacco smoke. Whether you consume cigarettes yourself or you are exposed to its smoke, it is equally dangerous and fatal in the long-term,” said Rojas.

Data from the Tobacco Atlas show that about 15.6 million Filipino adults continue to use tobacco every day while almost double, about 24 million, are exposed to tobacco smoke daily. Of this number, 75.7 percent are inhaling secondhand smoke in places without an antismoking policy.

Cancer survivor

Rojas, a cancer survivor, also cited records from the Philippine Cancer Society showing that an estimated 3,000 Filipinos die of lung cancer each year due to secondhand smoke.

“The law clearly provides that smoking in public places are prohibited, thereby making it illegal to puff cigarettes in establishments, where most of Christmas gatherings take place,” he said.

The Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 provides that smoking be absolutely prohibited in public places, which include schools, public transportation terminals and offices, public and private offices, shopping malls, hotels, movie houses and restaurants. Jocelyn R. Uy