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By Maricel V. Cruz Reporter
Studies have shown that at least
10 Filipinos die every hour from the tobacco epidemic. To address
the problem, administration and opposition lawmakers filed a measure
seeking to make picture-based health warnings printed in cigarette
packages mandatory.
Called the Picture-based Health
Warning Act, the bill’s proponents lamented that the existing text
warning “Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to your Health” is not
enough to educate or warn the public about the real dangers of
smoking.
“While the typical Filipino
smoker knows that smoking is dangerous to his health, he tends to
underestimate the risks because he does not have the benefit of
seeing a gangrene-afflicted foot or a person with mouth and throat
cancer,” the bill’s principal author, neophyte Rep. Paul Daza of
Northern Samar, said at a news conference.
The proposed measure will require
a picture-based warning to be printed on at least 60 percent of the
principal display surfaces of any tobacco package, at the front and
back.
In addition to the picture-based
health warning, cigarette packages as well as other tobacco product
packages should have information about the picture-based health
warning.
The bill also intends to remove
from cigarette packages misleading or deceptive descriptions that
create false impressions that cigarette smoking is still safe, like
“low tar,” “light,” or “mild.”
The co-authors of the bill
include administration Reps. Anna York Bondoc of Pampanga; Arthur
Pinggoy of South Cotabato; Lorenzo Tanada of South Cotabato; and
opposition Reps. Joel Villanueva of party-list Citizens Battle
against Corruption (Cibac) and Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel of Akbayan
party-list.
Bondoc said they will call on
President Gloria Arroyo to certify the measure as urgent.
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