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A growing number of young Filipinos are picking up
smoking despite new restrictions on tobacco advertising, according
to a nationwide study released on Wednesday.
Four million youth, aged between
11 and 19, are smokers, said the 2007 survey commissioned by the
World Health Organization and the Health department. The youth group
made up 23 percent of all Filipino smokers, compared to about 18
percent in 2005.
“This 23 percent could further
increase in a matter of three years,” said Maricar Limpin, a
doctor who leads an antismoking lobby, Framework on Tobacco Control
of the Philippines Alliance.
Limpin projected a rise, saying
few local governments were enforcing a law banning outdoor
advertising of tobacco that went into effect in mid-2007.
Eight of 10 Filipino teenagers
have seen a tobacco advertisement over the past year, according to
the study.
“By preventing our children
from starting to smoke, we can reduce the impact of tobacco on our
children,” said Health department epidemiologist Marina Baquilod,
who conducted the study.
Government data shows smoking is
linked to five of the top 10 leading causes of deaths in the
Philippines, where up to 35 percent of the country’s 89 million
people are tobacco users.
--AFP
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