MANILA -- An official of an anti-smoking advocacy group on Tuesday called on smokers to do a Lenten Season sacrifice by not picking up any cigarette stick or electronic cigarette (e-cig) during the Holy Week.
"Denying ourselves cigarette sticks we usually cannot live without is one good way to practice abstinence, which does not only refer to consumption of meat products," New Vois Association of the Philippines (NVAP) president Emer Rojas said in a statement.
Rojas added that aside from making the "sacrifice", shunning cigarette puffing during the Holy Week is imperative, considering the enforcement of Executive Order (EO) No. 26, which prohibits smoking cigarettes in outdoor spaces, such as playgrounds, sports grounds, centers, church grounds, health/hospital compounds, transportation terminals, markets, parks, and resorts, as well as in public vehicles, such as jeepneys, tricycles, and taxis.
"We are calling on law enforcement agencies and local government units to strictly implement EO 26 by stopping individuals from smoking while doing Holy Week traditions," he said.
Meanwhile, the Sigaw ng Kabataan Coalition (SKC), a youth-led non-governmental organization, also urged those who are using e-cigarettes to shun their vices and instead opt to stay "clean" this Holy Week.
"We hope our youth will just choose to focus on the message of the Holy Week instead of still picking up their e-cig apparatus and start puffing them," SKC president Ellirie Aviles said. (PNA)
