MAASIN ANTI-SMOKING ADVOCACY MOVEMENT

MAASIN ANTI-SMOKING ADVOCACY MANAGEMENT
By Maloney L. Samaco
Maasin City Mayor

I launched our anti-smoking campaign on World No-Tobacco Day on May 31, 2009.  It was a Monday and during the flag ceremony I destroyed two reams of Marlboro blue seal before the employees of the city hall.  The cigarettes were cut by scissors one by one and dumped into the trash bins.  It ushered a formal declaration of a massive advocacy on the ill effects of tobacco smoking.  Before that, the campaign was introduced by the World Health Organization and the Department of Health during a seminar on our health personnel on April 29, 2009 at Sabin Resort Hotel, Ormoc City.

Maasin Anti-Smoking Advocacy Movement began.  What followed were a series of smoking cessation seminars in coordination with the DOH and the Bloomberg Foundation.  I initiated the posting of No Smoking stickers on motorcabs. We conducted announcement using public address system on public places informing the people that our anti-smoking program is on.  Our Healthy City Enforcers informed public utility vehicles at checkpoints of the anti-smoking laws implemented by the city government, especially on visitors and tourists.

We had conducted information drive in all barangays on Republic Act No. 9211,  "An Act Regulating The Packaging, Use, Sale, Distribution and Advertisements of Tobacco Products and Other Purposes" and City Ordinance No. 2009-042 "The Smoke-Free Ordinance of the City of Maasin, Southern Leyte."  Anti-smoking campaign were also conducted to all drivers of public utility vehicles including motorcabs and pedicabs.

The Seventh day Adventists supported us in our seminars.  During their Visayas Youth Assembly held at Maasin City Forest Park, Adventists from all parts of the Visayas, including their pastors, manifested their appreciation on our political will to campaign our people against smoking.  The Church continued supporting our endeavors through their prayers and always inspired us to continue our cause for the good health of our constituents

All other religious denominations through the association of the different pastors in Maasin, showed their support by inviting me in one of their meetings.  They pledged their support by inspiring their church members to refrain from smoking.  The program also earned the support of the Muslim community through their imam.

Of course the biggest inspiration came from the dominant Roman Catholic Church and religious organizations like Knights of Columbus and Gawad Kalinga who showed undying support to our advocacy.

Non-government organizations, civic clubs and private establishments helped us in our campaign by posting tarpaulins urging people to quit smoking.  These includes pictures on the ill effects of tobacco.  We removed cigarette advertisements, including billboards and signages.

The Maasin City Jail became a smoke-free city jail, the first in Region 8 and probably in the whole Philippines.  It was not an easy task controlling smoking in a place where suspected criminals and convicts are housed.  At first inmates protested and threatened to stage a hunger strike.  I explained that it is for their own good.  Non-smokers suffered much the consequences in a congested prison cell if smoking is tolerated.  Later the Bureau of Jail and Management Penology (BJMP) Regional Director ordered that all jails in Eastern Visayas should follow the example of Maasin City.    

I campaigned on all city employees to stop smoking.  Certificate of non-smoker is required for all employees, permanent, casual or job order.  Those who could not quit right away were required to undergo smoking cessation seminars.  A single cigarette butt in the city hall is very rare. Even people who transacted business at the city hall were barred from smoking in the city hall premises.  Employees wear badges "Serbisyong Walay Sigarilyo."

Maasin City College, owned and operated by the city government, is now the number one smoke-free college campus in Eastern Visayas and was awarded by the DOH.  Mere position of cigarette, match or lighter in the MCC campus is strictly prohibited.Maasin City Forest Park at Sitio Danao, Malapoc Norte, where the Maasin City Zoo is situated, is declared as a smoke-free zone.  In one activity participated by delegates all over the country, during the Boy Scouts of the
Philippines 7th National Rover Moot and One-Visayas Jamboree all participants, adult leaders and visitors were prohibited from smoking.

Motorcabs' and pedicabs'  franchises were not renewed if they did not print No Smoking signs inside their vehicles.   Smoking is strictly prohibited in public utility vehicles and in public places such as plaza, market, terminal, schools, hospitals, clinics, restaurants and other covered places.  Public place is defined as a place where people converge including streets.

I was able to convince the management of the provincial hospital especially smoking doctors to refrain from their vices especially if patients could view them smoking.  Besides the Province of Southern Leyte has passed an ordinance declaring the province as smoke-free.  A smoking area was also designated in the cockpit.

Tobacco advertisements and promotions were prohibited.   Tarpaulins showing the ill effects of a smoker's body and campaigning people to quit smoking abound the streets and public places instead.

Maasin won its first Red Orchid Award given by the Department of Health in coordination with the World Health  Organization and the Bloomberg Foundation on May 31, 2010.  Red orchid is the most sensitive of all varieties of orchids.  When there's smoke due to pollution or cigarette, it withers.  Maasin City is one of the only five local government units awarded the Red Orchid which include Davao City, Legaspi City, Talisayan in Misamis Oriental and Calauag in Quezon.

The search by the DOH is joined by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in its quest for Kalusugang Pangkalahatan or Universal Health Care, living a healthy lifestyle in an environment free from tobacco smoke.

The DOH Red Orchid Awards winners are judged based on the strength of comprehensive efforts to implement a 100% Tobacco-Free Environment using the World Health Organization  MPOWER initiative. MPOWER is an acronym that denotes the six proven tobacco control policies, namely: Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies; Protect people from tobacco smoke; Offer help to quit tobacco use; Warn against the dangers of tobacco; Enforce bans on tobacco advertising; and Raise taxes on tobacco.

The following year on May 31, 2011, Maasin City led all cities in receiving its second Red Orchid Award.  Davao City, Roxas City, Balanga City and Legaspi City also were awarded.  There were also 13 municipalities who received the Red Orchid, including Pintuyan and Naval, who conducted seminars and learned the techniques in Maasin.

During the awarding, I met Running Priest Father Robert Reyes, a staunch advocate of anti-smoking.  In his runs, he spread the word on the killer effects of tobacco.  We had conducted also our Takbo Kontra Tabako on May 23, 2011 one day before my birthday.  It was a run for a cause and all the proceeds were given as financial assistance to victims of tobacco-related diseases.

We have promoted the No Smoking Home and gave stickers to residencial houses who wanted to make their houses smoke-free.   The Blue Ribbon award was given to smoke free private establishments and the private sector who assisted us in our advocacy.   We also conducted a search for Outstanding Smoke-Free Barangays or the Barangay Red Orchid Awards, following the format of the DOH Red Orchids Award.

We have established three smoking cessation clinics, at the City Health Offices I, II and III at Barangays Asuncion, San Rafael, and Manhilo, respectively.  Smoking is considered as the fifth vital sign of a patient in our health offices, centers and stations.  The Smoking Cessation Clinic is established at the Office of the City Mayor.

Volunteers' training was conducted to recruit anti-smoking volunteers among students, barangay tanods, Sangguniang Kabataan officials and members, and out-of-school youths and they were issued identification cards.

On May 29, 2012, Maasin City won the Hall of Fame by getting the third Red Orchid Award together with the other Hall of Famers Davao City, Legaspi City, Calauag in Quezon and Talisayan in Misamis Oriental at the Philippine International Convention Center, Pasay City.  We were awarded a P500,000 project grant on tobacco control for us who won for three consecutive years.

There was DOH Caraga Region who conducted studies in Maasin.  Four municipalites of Biliran and two of Southern Leyte became recipients of our seminar-trainings.  The masteral students of Southwestern University from Cebu conducted their lakbay aral primarily to learn how effective the anti-tobacco program of Maasin is.  Nursing students from different schools made a survey on our people on the lessening or quitting of their smoking habits.

DOH Calabarzon also visited Maasin for an educational tour.  The Philippine Ports Authority also came to learn on how to make the ports tobacco free.  I was invited by Tacloban City to conduct a seminar on their enforcers on how to implement the anti-smoking law.

I campaigned anti-smoking thoroughly to all barangay captains and other officials.  A Barangay Red Orchid Award was conducted with big prizes awaiting the winners in the urban and rural category.

The 2012 Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association meet in Maasin became the first ever smoke-free EVRAA. Coaches, trainers and officials are prohibited from smoking to show good examples to their athletes.

When Maasin hosted the National Boxing Championships on February last year and the Batang Pinoy Visayas Qualifying Leg on September of last year.  Both events were participated in by delegations from all parts of the county and were declared smoke-free, the first in the history of the two sporting events in the country.

I visited the different schools of the city and campaigned room to room on pupils and students.  I warned them of the law prohibiting minors on buying cigarettes and cautioned them not to buy tobacco when told by thier fathers, uncles, grandfathers, and other elders.  I also urged the children to tell their elders to quit smoking because of their concern for their health.  I closed three stores who were selling cigarettes near the schools.

In a great show of political will and to show how serious we are in our anti-smoking campaign, I suspended all permits for the selling of cigarettes in the entire city.  This is to give thorough investigation on the distances of stores from hospitals, medical, dental and optical clinics, health centers, nursing homes, dispensaries, laboratories, gas stations and storage areas, daycare centers, schools and colleges.  I closed stores selling cigarettes near the schools.  We do this for the concern of the health of our constituents especially the wives, mothers and children who are greatly affected by second-hand smoke.

Our campaign is primarily against the most common legal addictive drug, and that's the cigarette.  In Maasin, we consider smoking as a form of addiction.  While marijuana is medicinal, it is banned because of its addictive nature.  And smoking is considered a habit forming vice, bad for the health, bad for the pocket, and bad for the future of our children.  Smoking is considered as the first step towards drug addiction.