Group Questions Smoking Ban Injunction

Health groups Thursday expressed disappointment over the injunction issued by a Mandaluyong court Wednesday against the anti-smoking policy of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). “We respect the authority of our honorable courts to decide on legal matters mainly because they are the proper venue for this. However, the life and health of our people should not be held hostage to legal battles nor technicalities of the law," Dr. Oscar D. Tinio, president of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), said. The Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court Branch 213 issued a writ of preliminary injunction against the MMDA from implementing its smoking ban. The six-page order handed down by Judge Carlos Valenzuela stated that the MMDA, headed by Chairman Francis Tolentino, is prevented from enforcing the no-smoking campaign on open areas not covered by the definition of public places in Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003. The petitioners, Antony Clemente and Vrianne Lamson, were apprehended by environmental enforcers while smoking in an "open area" based on photos presented by MMDA as evidence. "The said area, which is right beside EDSA, is an "open area that serves as a sidewalk for the general public," the order stated. Pieces of scientific evidence worldwide have shown that smoking kills. Second hand and third hand smoke equally kills people. In this situation, we understand that due process must be observed to protect the rights of all involved. We, however, maintain that the right of a non-smoker to life is supreme vis-a-vis the right of a smoker to engage in his useless and life threatening vice or addiction. So, in this case, we appeal to our authorities that due process should be expedited for the greater interest and protection of our people,” he added. The PMA is the umbrella organization of medical doctors in the country, promoting a smoke –free Philippines by banning its members from smoking and sending those who smoke to smoke cessation programs. The PMA recently criticized two local actresses who appeared in magazines holding cigarettes. “We are appealing to our non-smoking public to stand up for their basic rights to breathe clean, healthy and smoke-free air around them. If you see a person smoking in a public place then approach him in a group and politely ask him to extinguish his cigarette because his smoking not only bothers you but also endangers all the people around him most especially the children. Remember, a smoker’s right to engage in his addiction stops where a non-smoker’s supreme right to life begins” Tinio added. Section 5 of RA 9211 prohibits smoking in public places, namely centers of youth activity, elevators and stairwells, locations where fire hazards are present, within the buildings and premises of public and private hospitals, public conveyance and public facilities (including airport and ship terminals and train and bus stations) and food preparation areas. The injunction order will remain until the court gives its final decision on the case. Some time in August this year, a group of local farmers in La Union posted a P100,000 bond which the court considers for the effectivity of the injunction. "I feel that everyone, even non-smokers, are also benefiting from this in the sense that at least we are following the law. While the intentions may be noble, it does not justify an overzealous and oppressive implementation of the ban," said Luis de la Paz, counsel for Clemente and Lamson. Meanwhile, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance of the Philippines (FCAP) said it “mourns the deaths of more Filipinos” as tobacco companies continue to deny the public the right to health protection. “With the injunction in place, the tobacco industry succeeded in their strategy to undermine government’s tobacco control efforts through their highly-funded legal machinery,” FCAP Executive Director Dr. Maricar Limpin claimed in a statement. Limpin blamed the tobacco industry for the deaths of six to 10 Filipinos every hour due to tobacco-related diseases. “Blood is in their (tobacco companies) hands as they continue to sabotage the tobacco control efforts of the government,” she said.