Now that research has become an integral part of our society, we have countless literature suggesting that second-hand smoking is quite dangerous for a lot of people. In fact, there are pieces of evidence indicating that second-hand smoking is more dangerous than primary smoking because even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can damage the lining of blood vessels and can cause the platelets to become stickier (CDC, 2020). Not to mention, long-term effects of 2nd-hand smoking can make an individual be at high-risk for a wide-range of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases; with coronary heart disease, ung cancer, stroke, increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other breathing problems to name a few. Thus, it is no surprising that Cigarette-smoke free zones is a key public health policy.
In context, cigarette-smoke free zones in the Philippines entails that smoking is prohibit in public places such as government and healthcare facilities as well as in public utility vehicles and terminals (Tobacco Control Laws, 2022). As such, this policy primarily targets the public citizens.
As part of the advantages, the risks of exposure of non-smokers to second-hand smoke is significantly reduced. This policy can also benefit smokers on some extent, since their opportunity to smoke can be reduced, which in turn can somehow beneficial for their health. Furthermore, it also benefits the environment since there would be less polution on air with less smoking. Meanwhile, I think that there is no disadvantages for this policy since there’s nothing that smoking provides but just pure health risks and threats.
As for the implementation, I am glad that this is properly implemented for the most part since I don’t usually see people smoking in public places. However, I do think that this policy is not enough. I wish to see policies that would greatly reduced the instances of people’s exposure to 2nd-hand smoke even at their households. I wish the government would make further efforts to educate the public about the concept of such topics and the related risks to it. I understand that tobacco products provide a hefty amount of taxes to the government, but the majority of which are used to fund the treatments of smoke-related illnesses, which defeats the purpose of having huge funds. In the end, these taxes do not help us progress to a better country, instead we just become a country with high and increasing morbidity and mortality rates due to these diseases brought about by smoking.
Referecences:
Arcury, T., Trejo, G., Moore, D., Howard, T., Quandt, S., Ip, E., & Sandberg, J. “It’s Worse to Breathe It Than to Smoke It”: Secondhand Smoke Beliefs in a Group of Mexican and Central American Immigrants in the United States. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7699747/
Health Effects of Second-Hand Smoke. (2022). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/health_effects/index.htm
Second-hand smoke. (2022). Retrieved from: https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/stopping-smoking/reasons-to-stop/second-hand-smoke
Smoke Free Status of Indoor Public Places, Workplaces, and Public Transport. (2022). Tobacco Control Laws. Retrieved from: https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/legislation/country/philippines/sf-indoor