No smoking in Davao

Smoking has always been a vice of most people where the act it self of working on a cigar has been a normal sight. Smoking never a doubt poses major health problems effects and the government has made a way to somehow reduce and educate the people on its proper practice.

The approved city ordinance imposed that government and private establishment must provide designated smoking area to smokers so as not to contaminate the environmental air with nicotine contained air, most especially on restaurants – the common place and even to drivers inside their private vehicles, more over inside a public utility vehicle.

If in case the establishment failed to have an accommodating smoking area for smokers, they are in the position to give pieces of advice to refrain customers from smoking inside the non smoker’s area and may opt to transfer to some other place, thus this means a minus to their sales promotion.

The establishment can also be set to close order when city government upon inspection has proven of unlawful obedience to non-smoking policy. As a health care provider and a non- smoker I find the ordinances a great relief and big sigh to be able to breathe well in public areas, when I can’t stand the smell of smoke on smoke closed areas.

I hope that the non smoking ordinance can be continually well implemented in the city.

Pardon for being like a lecturer/teacher most of the times but PROHIBITION of SMOKING in public applies places to the rest of the Philippines as captured in the Clean Air Act provision below. But making a separate ordinance on it (like the Davao City model) proves the sincerity of the local government in implementing the laws of the land..... hope others will follow too.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8749
PHILIPPINE CLEAN AIR ACT OF 1999
Article Five
Pollution from Other Sources

SEC. 24. Pollution from smoking.- Smoking inside a public building or an enclosed public place including public vehicles and other means of transport or in any enclosed area outside of one’s private residence, private place of work or any duly designated smoking area is hereby prohibited under this Act. This provision shall be implemented by the LGUs.