Sanchez: Zero-hour for smoking

BANNING smoking in Bacolod’s public place is better enforced than say the City Ordinance No. 596 banning the littering of plastics, papers and other refuse.

It has been years since I had to tell riders to throw their cigarettes when they board jeepneys. My only problem with drivers is when I go outside of Bacolod, passengers nonchalantly light up a smoke like it’s nobody’s business.

Now let’s see how local governments will enforce the anti-smoking campaign in public places. The presidential executive order bans smoking in public places anymore, whether indoor or outdoor. Parks, bus stations, and even in vehicles. All these are considered public places.

"The executive order will actually mandate all the agencies of government, including the local government to implement this 100 percent smoking ban in all public places,” warned Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial.

The ban began last July 22, 2017. Police officers should be on their toes against these smokers.

I would like to see – and smell the smoke-free air – comfort rooms at the Hall of Justice. At the women’s CR on the second floor, a telltale sign is the ghastly smell of cigarette smoking in the women’s section. Oh, I would like to file a complaint against that female smoker.

Another telltale sign of smoking in public places are cigarette butts in the streets.

The good news is that they dispose their cigarettes before they board the jeepneys. The bad news is that these cigarettes contribute to Bacolod’s solid wastes because the public streets are the equivalent of public ashtrays.

I congratulate Hotel and Restaurant Association of Negros Occidental (Hrano) director Roberto Magalona, who publicly supports the smoking ban.

Although without the executive order, Hrano has long banned smoking inside their business outlets.

Let’s see how the Bacolod City Police Office monitor smoking inside coffee shops in the public market areas. I like to drink a cup of Batangas coffee in these places. What I hate is when other coffee drinkers think cigarette smoking is the wife of coffee drinking.

Councilor Caesar Distrito said barangay officials should also enforce the smoking ban. “We should arrest the violators to teach them a lesson,” he said.

True. It’s the patriotic duty of non-smokers to use their smartphones to take photos and post them on Facebook and other social media those who violate the EO. They have been warned. I don’t want their right to choose their poison to deprive me of my right to a clear air.

u2018Nuff said, as Stan the Man Lee of Marvel Comics always say. (bqsanc@yahoo.com)

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