Caspe: Out of 1,408 who quit, 384 went back to smoking

According to the Iloilo City Health office (CHO), 4,443 individuals sought assistance in order to quit smoking last year at the CHO cessation clinic, which is located on second floor in Iloilo City Hall, along with various district health centers.
Such programs include a brief tobacco intervention.
“Once you undergo consultation [at] our district health centers, we give you counseling and discuss the advantages of not smoking [and] risks to you and to those people around you,” explained City Health officer, Dr. Bernard Caspe. “During our counseling, we always emphasize that if you want to quit smoking, your will power should be strong and that you should stay away from those who can encourage you to go back to bad habit.”
“Out of 1,408 who quit, 384 of them went back to smoking again,” he added.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization for the Western Pacific region recently awarded Iloilo City the World No Tobacco Day Award.
“This recognition is based on our legislation; what we are doing to protect our children against smoking, like having school forums; and storytelling for kids,” said Iloilo City Anti-Smoking Taskforce Director Iñigo Garingalao.
Iloilo City is the only locality in the country to be recognized with the award.
Earlier this month, Bacolod City health advocates spoke before University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos students to discuss the dangers of secondhand smoke. A Philippine Information Agency-Region VI release defines secondhand smoke as the “smoke that originates from lighted cigarettes breathed out by smokers.”
“It’s not enough that we don’t smoke, it is also important and we have to remember that secondhand smoke can also kill us,” explained Bacolod CHO non-communicable diseases cluster head, Dr. Ava Joy Infante. “In the great, grand scheme of things, you will still have to pay for it because you’ll get sick [and] your children will get sick.”
She also pointed out, tobacco smoke holds over 7,000 chemical, 70 of which are carcinogenic, or contain cancer-causing components.
“If you’re smoking, you’re practically picking up diseases [for] yourself,” the health officer noted. “This is not just limited to your lungs; it spreads all throughout your body.”/WDJ