No smoking, please

ON THE GO 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 Marlboro 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 anymor e.

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 all-of-asudden can’t stand the sight and smell of a cigarette.

So imagine my delight when I found out about Executive Order 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 other s.”

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 Governor 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.

and fourth offense, automatic revocation of driver’s license. On the other hand, Republic Act 10913 or the Anti-Distracted Driving Act prohibits persons from checking their phones while driving. It took effect last May 18.

“Distracted driving” is defined as using telecommunications or entertainment devices while in motion or temporarily stopped at a red traffic light. Basis of the law is the record of accidents caused by unrestrained use of electronic mobile devices on the road.

A National Statistics Office report said using cellular phones while driving is one of the top causes of road crash incidents.

A special report on www.sunstar.com.ph on the habal-habal as the new king of the road cited a World Health Organization study that said half, or 53 percent, of reported road traffic fatalities in the Philippines in 2015 were motorcycle or tricycle riders. In Cebu City, the report said, the Cebu City Traffic Office recorded 12,094 accidents last year, which resulted in 58 deaths and 3,385 injuries. Drivers are prohibited from using phones to call, text, play games, or surf the Internet while in motion or temporarily stopped at a red light or at an intersection. Also covered are bicycles, pedicabs, trolleys, wagons, carriages, and carts, among others. Implementation of these two laws would be challenging. While the laws mean to impose road safety, they do not address the reasons why people ride habal-habal or why they use devices to seek alternates to escape traffic gridlock.