THE Iloilo Provincial Government is strictly enforcing the no-smoking policy within the Capitol premises.

On Monday, September 9, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) launched the Barangay Kapitolyo Smoke-Free Campaign to promote a tobacco-free workplace.

The highlight of the event was the signing of commitment led by Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., mayors, provincial board members, all department heads and chiefs of hospitals, and officers of the Association of Iloilo Provincial Government Employees (AIPGE), among others.

PHO head, Dr. Patricia Grace Trabado, said they will visit each Capitol office to conduct a health education campaign.

“We will have a massive information drive among offices. We will select a person-in-charge in each office to serve as advocate,” she said.

The PHO will also have a profiling of the health status of Capitol personnel.

Last July 2019, Governor Defensor issued an executive order directing the strict implementation of Iloilo Provincial Ordinance 2016-127 to all provincial government facilities such as the Iloilo Provincial Capitol, Iloilo Sports Complex, Covered Gym, Motor Pool, Iloilo Provincial Hospital, and 11 district hospitals.

The ordinance prohibits and penalizes the use, sale, distribution, and advertisement of cigarettes and other tobacco products in certain places in the province.

The Provincial Anti-Smoking Task Force is in charge of going after the violators. Violators shall be subjected to the standard disciplinary sanctions under the rules of the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Governor Defensor encouraged the employees to sustain the campaign to achieve “a smoke-free Capitol and Iloilo Province.”

The World Health Organization data showed that seven million died per year because of diseases secondary to smoking. Of the total deaths, 890,000 were due to exposure to secondhand smoke.

Smoking one to two cigarettes per day also increases a person’s risk by 48 percent to develop coronary artery disease which can resort to heart attack and death. (PR)