UP goes smoke free

Here is a press release regarding the Administrative Order for a Smoke Free UP issued by the UP Administration. This is in line with RA 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003. You can read the full text of the law through this link, particularly section 5, Smoking in Public Places, which is pertinent to the issuance of this administrative order.

University of the Philippines System (UP System) goes Smoke Free!

That's protection from Second Hand Smoke to over 51,500 students, 4,000 faculty and 7900 administrative personnel (and countless guests and visitors) in at least 7 constituent universities located in 12 campuses across the country. This protection also extends to the Philippine General Hospital, the largest public hospital in the Philippines, which has adopted its own smoke-free policies a few years ago.

According to Professor Marvic Leonen, Vice President for Legal Affairs of the UP System, the Administrative Order (AO) for Smoke Free UP was passed 2 days ago following unanimous vote. Students caught in violation of this order will be subjected to disciplinary action. Chancellors are given very stern instructions to implement the said AO.

As you may know, our laws require smoking ban in schools, however, because of the usual enforcement issues, this is not implemented in many universities. This policy is particularly difficult to implement in UP because of the sheer size of its land area and the fact that private residences and local communities are housed inside the big campuses. But with this AO, we have renewed hope that a smoke free UP is possible.