Thailand: NegOr Towns Stop Planting Tobacco for Smoke-free Bid

Source from:  Critical Reporting 07/10/2012

BANGKOK, THAILAND — Eighty percent of Negros Oriental towns through their mayors have informed that they have stopped planting tobacco, firstly in order to promote a tobacco and smoke-free society and second, because the production cost has gone sky high. Six more towns from the north and south of NegOr are among the late advocates of a smoke-free society namely San Jose, Vallehermoso, Dauin, Siaton, Basay and Sta Catalina. Their LGUs and civil society have bonded together to fight the malady of cigarette smoking which are getting a toll like 12,000 deaths annually in this country. Those who have stopped planting tobacco are Guihulngan, Bacong, Pamplona, Vallehermoso and Amlan. All other sixteen (l6) municipalities and five cities have joined the world wide silent war against cigarette smoking because of its detrimental health effects, not only to smokers, but second-hand smokers (those who breath the smoke from other people), too. The just-reelected president of the advocates of Tobacco Control and Smoke Free Advocates of Negros Oriental, TOSCA, is Amlan Mayor Bentham dela Cruz, and with City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria leading the four other cities in its mission to free civil society of the ill effects of tobacco and cigarette smoking. These sixteen mayors are meeting here in Bangkok. Our twin-media outfits which we represent here in Bangkok for a three-day advocacy update upon their invitation, are among the latest joiners of the civil society stakeholders. As founding members of the Dumaguete Press Club, Inc, we are also enjoining other media outfits to join the journey for a smoke-free society. The participant mayors here are (in geographical order) MAYORS Manuel Sagarbarria of Dumaguete ; Sibulan’s Marcela Bartoces; Amlan’s Atty Bentham dela Cruz; Manjuyod’s Oming Baldado, Mabinay’s Django Uy; Pamplona’s Apollo Arnaiz; Ayungon’s Edcel Enardecido; Bindoy’s Vicente Yap; Tayasan’s Winboy Sameon; Guihulngan’s Ernesto Reyes; Valencia’s Rikki Gonzales; Bacong’ s Lenin Alviola; Bayawan’s Atty Rene Gaudiel ; This year, we have four Red Orchid national awardees, for embarking on a successful smoke-free municipality: Amlan, again; Mabinay, Zamboanguita and Tayasan. They have joined the advocacy of a healthy lifestyle, and a smoke-free society. ADVOCACY: Of course we cannot let everybody follow the non-smoking advocacy. What this TOSCA is trying to do is to educate, persuade, convince, motivate, and contaminate the idea of no-smoking because it destroy’s not only the smokers’ health, but also those who inhale smokers’ smoke. Here in Bangkok, it is the model in Asia for non-smoking advocacy. Most stores selling cigarettes no longer display the goods, but just simple written signs, sans the logo of cigarette companies. Most convenience stores also no longer display alchoholic drinks except red wine and beer. A former member of Parliament here Mr Prakit, a doctor, who is the author of Thailand’s Health Promotion Foundation, passed a law thru the King, to make healthy lifestyle a free advocacy. He was one of our lecturers. Enditem