No smoking, please

Three years ago, I was finally able to kick the addictive habit that I had picked up back in boarding school in high school

There was a time when I started and ended my day with a cigarette. And for almost three decades, that was what I did. I could always be counted on to have a pack of Marloboro Lights Gold and a lighter or matches, or both. After all, what was the point of having a stick and not having anything to light it with, right? That would have been the worst-case scenario for any die-hard smoker if that ever happened.

Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about that anymore.

Three years ago, I was finally able to kick the addictive habit that I had picked up back in boarding school in high school. Until now, I can’t believe that I succeeded.

I mean, who in their right minds would miss smoking?

Take for example the smoke. The stench has a way of permeating every nook and cranny of any given room you’re in.

When I think back, I must have constantly smelled like I had just come out of a bar, which, come to think of it, was almost always the case so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. And yet, I wore that as a badge of honor. I should have also stopped when the walls in my room in our old house, which was originally white, had, over time, turned yellowish. Or that my left pointing and middle fingers had gone the same way. And so did my teeth.

But no, I continued to smoke almost two packs a day. Until, I decided I’d had enough. And just like that, I quit.

So now, I tend to get on my moral high horse whenever I’m with people who have yet to “see the light,” so to speak.

I have become that annoying person who allof-a-sudden can’t stand the sight and smell of a cigarette.

So imagine my delight when I found out about Executive Order (EO) 26, which President Rodrigo Duterte signed last May 16.

What it does is “set strict guidelines on designated smoking areas and prohibit smoking in public places, such as schools, hospitals and recreational facilities for minors, among others.”

What this means is that authorities will be on the lookout for kids puffing away as they loiter on neighborhood corners. It also means that any establishment caught selling cigarettes to minor will find themselves on the receiving end of a stiff fine.

Smokers like Gov. Hilario Davide III have no choice but to welcome the announcement. Of course he would say that he supports the ban. What else could he do?

So, too, does Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, although his reception to the news was, at best, tepid.

The mayor, a former smoker, is worried about economic impacts. He pointed out that one hotel in the city has already lost 30 percent of its revenue since news broke out that the President wants to expand the public smoking ban from Davao City to the rest of the country.

Aside from that, Osmeña is also worried about effectively enforcing the ban.

I get his concerns. After all, he’s just being practical. But why not give it a try? Exert political will for a change. That’s how Duterte succeeded in Davao.

Meanwhile, let me continue to gloat and be hypocritical about the whole thing.