Tag: health

Smoking Kills

The statistics…

Tobacco use kills more than five million people per year. It is responsible for 1 in 10 adult deaths.

Every eight seconds, someone dies because of smoking-related diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and heart diseases.[1]

Among the five greatest risk factors for mortality, it is the single most preventable cause of death. But, if the current patterns continue, tobacco use will kill more than 8 million people per year by 2030. Up to half of the world’s more than 1 billion smokers will die prematurely of a tobacco-related disease.[2]

In the Philippines, 34.8% of our population is engaged in tobacco smoking. What is more disturbing is that children as early as nine years old smoke.[3]

For every cigarette stick smoked, a smoker loses at least five minutes of his precious life and also endangers the lives of innocent people around him whose only fault is that they did not forget to breathe.

As Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography in the 14th Congress, I heard and then sponsored the bill mandating picture-based warnings on tobacco products (SB 2377).

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We need the bill to deter new smokers, especially among the youth, try to lessen the urge of existing smokers, as well as implement our commitment under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which is an international treaty initiated by the World Health Assembly. It is the first global public health agreement devoted entirely to tobacco control to which the Philippines is a signatory and which was participated in by 192 countries.

The Philippines acceded to the FCTC in 2005 obliging us to comply with certain standards, such as tobacco price and tax increases, tobacco advertising and sponsorship, illicit trade and second-hand smoke. More importantly, the FCTC recommends implementing effective measures on packaging and labeling of tobacco products, such as the adoption of a picture-based health warning on tobacco packages.

I defended this bill on the floor and was hoping it would pass, but there was strong resistance from some senators. It was very disappointing.

Meanwhile, a similar bill filed in the House of Representatives was not prospering either, also due to the resistance of some lawmakers.

Soon after, then Secretary of Health Esperanza Cabral came out with DOH Administrative Order 2010-0013 which mandated that graphic health warnings be placed in tobacco packages in accordance with our obligation under the FCTC.

This was a move I fully supported and was happy to see implemented.

Unfortunately, the tobacco companies filed a petition questioning the legality of DOH AO 2010-0013 and seeking to prevent the DOH from implementing the same. An injunction order restraining the DOH from implementing the AO was granted by a Regional Trial Court of Malolos, Bulacan. Thus, the DOH filed a petition with the Supreme Court to question the decision of the lower court.

Former Health Secretaries Francisco Duque III, Jaime Galvez-Tan, Alberto Romualdez, Alfredo Bengzon and Esperanza Cabral, then filed a Motion to Intervene in the Supreme Court case citing that as former health secretaries, “it is our moral responsibility to continue to protect public health interest from an industry that fosters disease and death in its regular course of business.” They also said that “the meddling of the tobacco industry is preventing the DOH from carrying out its mandate to protect and preserve the health and lives of Filipinos.”[4]

In April 2011, the Supreme Court granted said Motion to Intervene.

The mandate for tobacco products to bear graphic health warnings should no longer be a subject of great debate. Studies show that graphic health warnings are effective.

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In Brazil, two thirds of smokers (67%) said the warnings made them want to quit.[5]

In Canada, nearly half of smokers (44%) said the warnings had increased their motivation to quit.[6] More than one quarter of smokers (27%) also smoked less inside their home as a result of warnings.[7]

In Singapore, more than one quarter of smokers (28%) said they consumed fewer cigarettes as a result of the warnings[8]and one out of six (14%) of smokers said they avoided smoking in front of children as a result of warnings.[9]

In Thailand, nearly half (44%) of smokers said the pictorial warnings made them “a lot” more likely to quit over the next month.[10]

Now in the 15th Congress, I have re-filed the Senate Bill No. 2340 or the “Picture-Based Health Warning Law”. As Chair of the Committee on Health, I intend to hold a hearing soon. I know the tobacco lobby is strong but policy makers and legislators should not hesitate to support policies and legislation that will promote the health of Filipinos. This is mandated in Sec. 15 of the Philippine Constitution which says that “the State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.”

Tobacco products have been proven to be hazardous to people’s health. The tobacco companies are not being prevented from conducting business. But since they are selling a hazardous product, they should be responsible corporate citizens and comply with policies that are pro-health.

Bike for Hope Davao

Davao City to Tagum CityI love Davao!

Davao City is so progressive. The first city with a Women’s Code. They also have an anti-smoking ordinance and a fire cracker ban. They are looking into establishing bike-lanes. And the most important part of this.. they implement their laws!

Meanwhile, Davao del Norte, is constructing a state-of-the-art sports complex in Tagum City. I saw the plans and was at the ground breaking on a previous visit. So very exciting. Ani del Leon, also conducted a Pinay in Action running clinic there. They are also pouring million of pesos into health care.

I was there for 3 days from January 29-31, 2009. My office and advocacy arm, Pinay in Action organized 25 seminars on health, breast feeding, immunization, women empowerment and running clinics for girls.

That was the tiring part and we couldn’t have pulled it off without my hard working and dedicated staff, the support of the local government units, particularly Davao City, thru the office of Mayor Rody Duterte and Davao del Norte Province, thru Governor Dolfo del Rosario, the NGOs and private sector.

The fun part was the 101 km bike ride from Davao City to Tagum City (where the provincial government of Davao del Norte is). There were also a lot of people who lined the streets to greet us, and as always many expressed shock to see women bikers.

We passed thru the beautiful banana plantation that just stretched on and on. It was a very calming bike ride, away from the heavy traffic, save for the aerial spray of fertilizer which flew right above us! There is actually a Davao City Ordinance banning this, but the case is currently pending in the Court of Appeals.

riding thru the banana plantation

For part of the ride, I rode and chatted with Fr. Amado Picardal

Riding with Fr. Amado Picardal

known as the Biking Priest. He bikes around the country for peace. His blog is full of interesting stories of his bike rides, his advocacies and his vocation as a priest and teacher.

An interesting side trip was the tour of the Nestle Experimental and Demo Farm for Coffee. I was told that it is the only experimental facility for coffee in the whole country! learning about different coffee varietiesFarmers come from all over the country to learn about improving their coffee business. We used to be an exporter of coffee but today, we cannot even meet our local demand 🙁 Sadly, Vietnam’s yield per hectare is much higher than ours, according to the National Coffee Development Board, which only tells us there is so much more to do.

Another stop I made was Barangay Sasa in Davao City where our triathlon national champ George Vilog hails from. As a young boy, he enjoyed riding his bmx bike and swimming in Coaco Beach. At 16, he competed in his first triathlon . In 2002, he became our national champion. Today, he is the silver medalist of the SEA games.

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George is a shining example of a young boy with very little means, who found his way to the top thru sports. George is currently developing local talents in Davao.

And so ended my Davao trip. Had to rush home to my girls after the ride and shift to mommy mode.

n.b. Bike for Hope is a project of  The Companero Rene Cayetano foundation which was put up by my dad the former Senator Renato Cayetano years ago. When he pased away, we continued it in his memory. We are on our 8th leg having covered various provinces in Luzon Visayas and Mindanao. By God’s grace, I hope to bring Bike for Hope to other parts of the country to continue spreading our advocacies on health, women empowerment, protection of the environment and youth development programs.

What Have You Done Today to Make You Feel Proud?

This is a refrain from a song in my ipod shuffle, which I hear a couple of times a week when I’m out biking or running. I often ponder on that song and wonder what I have done to make, not only myself proud, but my parents, and the people around me? I wonder if people ever ask themselves what they have done to be proud of this country.

I had planned on posting this on June 12 in celebration of independence day, but as usual got caught up with a billion things. Delayed as it is, I think we should all ask ourselves that question. As a human being, as a God fearing Filipino, does my existence contribute to the general welfare of the people around me, my country? Do I complain about what’s wrong with this country before asking myself what have I done to make it better?

It’s a serious question but depending on your mood, you can answer it lightly or with as much as serious thought as you wish to put into it.

I’m choosing to answer this from a personal point of view, as in what I am personally proud of, and also collectively, as in my views on what we as a people can be proud of¦

1. As a mother, I am proudly raising my two daughters to be responsible citizens who care about others and the environment we live in. During the summer, I had each of them list their energy-saving tips and ways of saving the environment (subject of a future blog). I try to expose them to all aspects of Filipino life, so they understand that there is still so much poverty around us and that each of us can do something to make a difference. I want them to be cognizant of the fact that life is tough for many. Their baby brother Gabriel did not have an easy life. He could not breath without assistance, could not eat without a tube in his mouth.

So every year, we celebrate Gabriel’s life with a 12-hour fundraising and awareness multi-sport event for the benefit of children with disabilities (www.gabrielsymphony.com). I hope my daughters will grow up to be compassionate Filipinos who care about the well-being of others.

2. We Filipinos take pride in our love of family and respect for our elders. We take care of our parents and grandparents. We are proudly the best caregivers in the world, from doctors to nurses to caregivers; our professionals are sought worldwide. But government must not lose focus on the fact that as we supply the world with our human health care professionals, we must also plan on how to take care of our own. These were some of the issues I have been working on locally and abroad, most recently at the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in Cape Town last April (future blog). We need to focus on improving access to healthcare for our own people.

3. I am proudly promoting the cause of health and fitness. I cannot talk enough about how important it is for each one of us to be responsible for our own health. It does not come for free. One must eat well, exercise and live a healthy life. For more on my health agenda, visit my official website www.senatorpiacayetano.com

4. I am proudly fighting for a greener cleaner Philippines. We are working on the passage of the sustainable forest management bill. We are also trying to increase awareness and compliance with our solid waste management law (RA 9003). More and more Filipinos are aware of the need to segregate waste. And yet according to Ecowaste Coalition, of the 42,000 barangays only 2,000 have a segregation program and an MRF (material recovery facility). Is there one in your barangay?

5. We were all born into this country that is rich in natural resources. I am proudly sponsoring bills to declare many of these areas as protected areas. I have called on Filipinos to vote for Tubattaha and our other natural treasures on www.new7wonders.com. But what have we each done to contribute to the preservation of these Philippine wonders? There are rivers and mountains that need to be restored and rehabilitated all over the country. You can each take up a cause close to your heart. (there are a lot of causes, more on these in future blogs)

6. I am proudly working towards the attainment of our Millennium Development Goals in 2015. We need to decrease our infant, child and maternal mortality rates. Today, there are still many women in the rural areas who die of childbirth, simply because they do not have access to a childbirth attendant (a certified midwife, nurse or doctor). Many newborns are underweight, malnourished and sickly because their mothers did not have pre-natal care. Access to prenatal care is vital.

7. I am proudly promoting breastfeeding. Many mothers still do not know that they are capable of exclusively feeding their baby for the first six months with their breastmilk without the need of supplementing with formula milk or food (visit my breastfeeding blog on www.bestforbabies.wordpress.com)

8. Filipino women are the bedrock of our homes and our society. I proudly support women empowerment thru my Pinay In Action programs. Every year, we celebrate Women’s Month in March with an all-women’s run and expo. My team, headed by national team tri champ Ani de Leon goes around the country giving talks on empowerment to young girls and teaching them how to run.

9. I proudly support the Philippine teams that compete in international competitions. These athletes work hard, despite the limitations in training facilities, financial and sometimes even moral support. They persevere and excel..and bring glory to our country.

10. I love to race. I join triathlons, duathlons and marathons whenever I can. It is my pride and privilege to carry the Philippine flag.

I could spend a whole day on this list. But the point of this exercise is to get people to think, just as the song goes, “what have you done today to make you feel proud?