FIRST PHILIPPINE GLOBAL ADULT TOBACCO SURVEY SHOWS MANY FILIPINOS EXPOSED TO SECOND-HAND SMOKE

From: DOH WebPage

The Department of Health (DOH) today disclosed that almost half of the Filipinos surveyed in the first Philippine Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) revealed that they live in homes where smoking is allowed.

In coordination with the National Statistics Office, a total of 9,705 individuals in rural and urban areas of the country 15 years of age and older (to represent 61.3 million Filipinos) were selected and interviewed in 2009. Of this number, 28.3% were current tobacco smokers, representing 17.3 million Filipinos and 22.5% or approximately 13.8 million Filipinos smoke every day. The average age of initiation for daily smokers 18-34 years old was 17.4 years old.

The GATS data revealed that almost half (48.8% or 29.8 million) of Filipinos are exposed to cigarette smoke in their homes and 54% (32.9 million) reported that someone smokes at least monthly in their homes.

The knowledge, attitude and perception of the respondents that smoking causes serious illness were very high at 94%; 95.6% believe that smoking can cause lung cancer, heart attack (81.3%) and stroke (75.5%).

More importantly, among those who work indoors, 65.4% of their worksites have policies “disallowing” smoking yet 13.9% were exposed to second hand smoke (SHS). More than a quarter (25.5%) of Filipinos who visited a government building during the past 30 days were similarly exposed. while 55.3% (28 million) Filipinos who used the public transport during the past month were exposed to SHS.

“This is why we are urging cigarette manufacturers to put graphic health warnings on their products”, Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said, adding that there is also a need to work fast towards 100% smoke-free environments where there is still very high exposure of second-hand smoke at homes, public places and indoor places.

Cabral also said that communities and local government units need to address this issue by passing ordinances to strengthen provisions of RA9211 or the Tobacco Regulatory Act of 2003 on "Healthful Environment" without exemptions.

The GATS is a standardized global survey for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use and tracking key tobacco control indicators. The Philippine GATS is a joint collaborative effort of the Philippine Department of Health and the National Statistics Office, the field implementing agency. Technical support was provided by the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.