University of the Philippines System Goes Smoke-Free
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.
Congratulations to UP and thank you, Professor Marvic Leonen, for giving us a Smoke Free UP!
Let’s support UP’s smoke free initiatives in any way we can. The successes in UP provides the groundwork for a nationwide smoke free campaign!
It’s a news that has been circulating for the past couple of, well, hours. How true this is, I don’t really know.
What do you think about this “rumored” AO?
Incidentally, I’ve read two smoking-related blog entries today. Ho-hum….
Image from Daniel Meloy.
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Wow. A lot of people will be pissed, Shari. I have a few friends who smoke like every after class. Hehe.
Well, I think it’s about time. First, with the anti-smoke belching policy, now this? More fresh air for everyone.
If it’s true, I’m sure a lot of people would be angry but I think it’s good if it *is* true, because everyone knows smoking is bad, and since I have asthma and my family does too, I’m not really a fan of… smoke. :P
Okay, I’m all for smoke-free places and all since I don’t smoke. I came from UST, which is a smoke-free campus. But… but… but… THE UP CAMPUS IS SO FRIGGING LARGE! How the hell are they gonna implement that?
this smoking ban doesn’t really make a difference for me. UP Manila has long had a no smoking policy so yay for us! and yay for me too, because i don’t smoke and i abhor the smoke.
yes ade, we can pull it off in our campus because the space each college occupies is pretty small. you can even say cramped—colleges are bunched up against each other. and since PGH is also part of UP Manila, it would be nigh stupid to let people smoke around the premises.
Finally!
I do hope this is true. I’m so tired of suffering from sore throat and asthma attacks whenever I inhale smoke from school. Dami pa namang chain smokers dun, usually pasosyal lang. Hehe. :P
I do hope it is true. I guess another job for the SBB? (Aside from their nightwatch sa Lagoon at sa Sunken to prevent… to prevent… CRIMES! to prevent crimes! Diba! Hehe.
)
Congratulations? CONGRATULATIONS!??!!?!? But one of the coolest things about UP is the fact that you can smoke wherever the fuck you want! Goddamnit. And I really wanted to take my MA there too.
I’m not totally against smoking but I wish people would place themselves naman. I really wish that one day there’d be a no-smoking in public areas law in the Philippines because I’ve been a victim of these people many times.
The worst was when I was walking with my classmate, may nag-overtake sa akin, sabay pag-overtake niya, nagbuga ng usok! Bastos talaga. Nagreact ako tapos lumingon lang siya, di man lang nagsorry. Sa loob loob ko, pinagdarasal ko na masagasaan siya nun. LOL
Sa SLU ilang years nang may ganyan. 3 years ago pa ata implemented.
Mga smokers IN PUBLIC, maawa kayo sa mga may hika na katulad ko. Sa private areas niyo nalang gawin yan.
where’s the actual article link?
Ako rin go for smoke-free areas. Haha. Pero I’m not against smokers, ayoko lang talaga nung usok kasi mahina baga ko e.
Para iimplement yan sa UP, siguro hindi agad-agad. Matatagalan pa bago ma-implement ng tuluyan if ever totoo man yan.
[...] healthy minds or better brain processing. I was actually searching for the source but I only have misteryosa’s via Google. Here it goes: University of the Philippines System (UP System) goes Smoke [...]
Good thing! Smoking is unhealthy!
er, ang laki ata ng UP para magawa yan.
hindi ba puedeng magkaroon na lang ng specific places kung saan makakapagyosi ang mga tao? :|
Nakakatuwa, nakikita ko dito na maraming natutuwa at hindi natutuwa sa policy na eto. Eto tanong ko sa nagcomment o balak magcomment:
1. Sa tingin nyo, nakakabubuti ang usok sa mga ibang tao na nasa paligid nyo especially ang campus ay isang public place?
2. Considerate ba kayo sa mga bata, matanda, at sa ibang tao na mahina ung baga kung naninigarilyo kayo?
3. Ang dahilan ba kung bakit kayo gustong mag-UP ay dahil pwede(dati) manigarilyo sa loob ng campus?
4. At, ang dahilan kung bakit hindi nyo susundin ang policy ay dahil hindi eto mahigpit na ma-eenforce?
With these questions, please test your self-control and maturity.
Well, seeing as how I don’t smoke and I have asthma, that sounds like a good idea
Not that it’s gonna affect me cuz it’s not like I ever go to UP (nor have I ever been there!)
But I still think it’s good. Here in Washington state, there’s even a law called “Healthy indoor air for Washington” or something like that. You can’t smoke in restaurants or other indoor places. Most people who smoke outdoors are pretty sensitive about not blowing smoke into your face or not smoking too close to someone who seems to not like it… and that’s a good thing.
I hope they’ll be able to enforce it. I’ve had people in my family who have developed lung cancer because of smoking. When will people learn?!
I think that’s gonna be really hard to do because UP is soooo big. They should ban smoking in key places, meaning, minimalize the areas to smoke. In my campus, I don’t smoke anywhere, we have a designated smoking room which all the students go to so that the campus won’t smell like a total smokeball. Haha.
I’m sure a lot of people will be pissed about this. WAIT. Scratch that, more like furious!
But I guess this is a risk they should all take. I think it’s a good policy. Smoking has very adverse effects to the SMOKER and those around him/her. It’s a win-win situation. I guess.
Or, I agree with Juice.. Maybe they should just provide smoking areas. Hahaha.
Yeah, i definitely agree. They can’t just implement it like that. Most of the people I know who study in UP smoke. So, yeah. They just have to put-up a smoking area. But overall, that’s good news.
Allow me to take the liberty of making an experiment in this comment box.
I know all about it, and as a smoker I’m kind of pissed off at the whole idea. Here in your old campus, the venerable Chancellor has set aside a few smoking areas… in the strangest of places (the woods beside the carpentry shed, the big tree between the ACS kiosk and the 20’s but not batibot, and so on). We SocSci people have decided to appropriate the old Sanktwaryo as a smoking area, but even that would be challenged, considering that the Administration people are solidified pieces of flatulence, figuratively speaking of course.
The law on “smoking bans” is very permissive: the operative word is “may” and not “should.” I’m all for a healthy UP, but if you asked me, we’re going about “smoke-free UP” all wrong. Punishing smokers for smoking does not hit or even hint at the soft underbelly of the whole conundrum surrounding smoking. The point is that smoking is a cultural addiction: I agree that non-smokers are victims, but smokers are also victims of a culture of vice. I’m a dumpster activist, but let’s face it: if there’s any single solitary evidence of the three basic problems of Filipino society (you already know this one, Shari) it’s the cigarette.
In order to eliminate smoking, you have to eliminate the companies that create cigarettes. I suggest that UP uses its power as the academe to lobby Congress to tax the hell out of tobacco companies. I, for one, wouldn’t buy a P10.00 stick of a cigarette, plus the “patong” added to it by ambulant “takatak” vendors. Treating the smoker like a criminal won’t do anything to solve the health crisis brought about by smoking: besides, when a smoker goes through withdrawal symptoms, he also undergoes a serious psychological neurosis.
I’m all for a healthy UP: in fact, I am a very considerate smoker. I smoke in smoking areas, I only smoke in the presence of other smokers, I properly dispose of my cigarette butts, I give away cigarettes to fellow students in dire need of them, and so on. I act lawfully, in this case, well within the precepts of the law of the land: I live honorably, I do not injure my neighbors, I give every man his due. Does this make me a criminal, when my conscious volition to start smoking is only a consequence to a culture and a society that upholds vice? Think about it.
Enforcing this law, though, should take into consideration the welfare not of the many above the few: a law is not drafted for the sake of a statistical probability that defines the majority. What could have been done was to hold a discussion on this matter first, taking into account the merits of every argument, and come up with a piece of legislation or a policy that would take everyone’s welfare as a subject into the fold. You do not put the muzzle on the smoker’s mouth just because you have this certain stigma about the smoker: besides, volition is only part of the equation.
In the end, legislating against the smoker will work against the smoke-free UP campaign. My suggestion, again, is to go after the tobacco companies.
Whew… BTW, Shari: if, following your link to my entry, a great number of people smoke cigarettes through their genitals… that’s just wrong.
That’s great, if it’s true.
And UPLB’s so vast. I mean, I can smoke behind huge trees along the Forestry campus!
Anyway, I rarely smoke so I guess I’m not gonna be pissed off.
Or I guess I can smoke OUTSIDE the campus. O diba.
sa sampa pala ako nagdodorm
at belated happy birthday sayo 
ngayon ko lang to nalaman, ok lang sakin. Hirap ako huminga pag may naninigarilyo malapit sakin, parang kusang sumisikip ilong ko 
sa totoo lang hindi naman ako masyado naaapektuhan ng smokers sa UP (walang kaso sakin kung may naninigarilyo since malaki naman ang lugar at madaling lumayo), pero ok na din para sa ikabubuti ng lahat. Para sa mga nahihirapang itigil yung habit na paninigarilyo 
this is a one-sided article. i hope the UP management should consider the people in their jurisdiction who can not just put aside smoking in one snap. they may offer them a smoking lounge somewhere.
DISCLAIMER: i am not a smoker so for me, this one-sided article is good news. yey!
Err, alleviate the 300% tuition fee increase first before embarking on this futile witch hunt. Pfft.
But I guess they’re still gonna push through that, even if takes installing surveillance cameras all over the ginormous campus. Pfft.
Hmm, that’d be nice if that happened here, but too bad, I’m sure it’s not going to happen… Although we do have designated areas and such… LOL…
wow, i can imagine the ruckus this caused for smokers and non-smokers alike within the campus. back in my college years at UP, i can distinctly remember my professors smoking in the classroom, and a few classmates too. especially during saturday classes.
NO. NO. NO. That’s sooo bad news for kids who go to UP and who smoke at the same time. Sucks for them. But I think it’s unfair kung totoo nga yan. I mean, in highschools, yeah, it’s understandable, pero college univerisities? come on, give em a break.
I’m pretty sure there are going to be designated smoking areas around the campus (like Ateneo’s smockets). Good thing I don’t hang out at UP campuses, checking out them college boys :P But maaaaaan, this is a bit sad. Sundays at Sunken Garden, watching guys play football and frisbee and sitting on the grass, chain-smoking a pack. And hello, if this is true, what about next year’s UP Fair?!
Anyways. I remember when MC took out the smoking area: even the dean of student affairs got into a tizzy cos she’s a smoker, too. We’d have to go to the Friendship Bridge in Ateneo in between classes to squeeze in a quick cigarette, and there was always that risk of getting caught, so we’d hide in the garages and stuff. Not fun. Bah.
[...] I got this post from Shari of Misteryosa. [...]
[...] UP Goes Smoke-Free Jump to Comments I got this post from Shari of Misteryosa. [...]
I’m all for the smoking ban. Second-hand smoke almost gave me emphysema when I entered college.
I knew I shouldn’t hang out with my billards buddies too much.
weee shariiii!! remembuur meee?
haha
eh pwede ba un? i mean your school is effin big.. unlike MC. dati sabi may smoking area pa samin ngayon wala na. so san na pwede magyosi?ahhh… sa sunken garden pwede! haha. but atleast you guys can still smoke anywhere.. kami hindi coz we have uniforms right so patay pag nahuli. kahit along katip camon!
pero d talaga pwede yan.. as in hindi. haha.
Smoking after sex. Reduced smoking after sex on campus. Think of the ramifications. :P
Actually, they should ban “farting” on campus. Seriously.
Yes, I’m kidding. No, wait… they should ban “farting” in public. Noxious fumes destroy brain cells and the environment. Plummeting grades. Failed students. A big disaster for the nation.
i had heard about this a couple of days ago. i think it’s ok in a way kaya lang hassle sa mga nagsmoke after class or something. pero parang malabong mangyari yun… oh well.
they can always smoke sa bahay nila… kaso nga lang medyo mahihirapan mag adjust mga smokers nito…
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P.S.
Visit my blog for my new vector art
hindi ako nagyoyosi!
ha ha ha!!!
at last shari nabuksan ko rn tong webby mo… naman!! sa hindi malamang dahlan ewan ko ba kung bakit hindi ko ito mabuksan.. andami ko tuloy na miss…
sensya nga pala hini ako nakapunta sa birthday mo…
thanks sa invitation at least na feel ko na im a true friend of yours..*drama*
nainggit nga ako nung makita ko yung pic sa baba.. huhuh….
sa sunod punta ako.. pwamis…
teka, pupunta ka ba sa bloggers meet?!
hindi ako nagyoyosi!
ha ha ha!!!
at last shari nabuksan ko rn tong webby mo… naman!! sa hindi malamang dahlan ewan ko ba kung bakit hindi ko ito mabuksan.. andami ko tuloy na miss…
sensya nga pala hini ako nakapunta sa birthday mo…////
thanks sa invitation at least na feel ko na im a true friend of yours..*drama*
nainggit nga ako nung makita ko yung pic sa baba.. huhuh….
sa sunod punta ako.. pwamis…
teka, pupunta ka ba sa bloggers meet?!
I just realized that Marvic Leonen pushed for this. Lol, I had a crush on him when he gave a seminar at school. Also, I know chismis about his marriage to one of my former college profs hahahaha.
If this is true, why are we not informed? And I am sorry but I am under the impression that anyone who is smart enough to pass the UPCAT is also smart enough to make her/his own decisions in life.
I smoke. The only place I can smoke is UP because it’s a big space where I can puff out without suffocating anyone. I smoke knowing I will probably get lung cancer and all those nifty little health things. I also smoke responsibly - as responsibly as I can. I don’t let anyone inhale secondhand smoke and I dispose my cigarette butts properly.
If I want to kill myself slowly, I think I should have the right too. This might not make a lot of sense to a lot of people but think of the other kind of freedom that this “ban” is stepping on.
pinapatupad na nila yang smoking ban sa UP. sa katunayan, patago na nga nagbebenta ngayon yung tindero sa may college of music ng yosi. nakakalungkot lang para sa mga tulad kong nagyoyosi dahil sa kaso ko, sa UP na nga lang ako nakakapagyosi nang maayos, pero pati ngayon hindi ko na to pwedeng magawa.
Marocharim said:
“I’m all for a healthy UP: in fact, I am a very considerate smoker. I smoke in smoking areas, I only smoke in the presence of other smokers, I properly dispose of my cigarette butts, I give away cigarettes to fellow students in dire need of them, and so on.”
I agree. I am a heavy smoker, and like Marocharim, a considerate smoker. UP in the early 1980s actually started me on cigarettes when it allowed smoking inside the classrooms where both the professors and students could put up their feet and puff away while engaging in the most intellectual discussions. In fact summer classes for calculus had the whole class buying a ream of Marlboro Reds in common (so I had to switch from menthols) and everyone was free to consume as much as he or she wanted.
Smoking used to be so cool (Virginina slims used to have the longest legged women with “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby” captions), and now smokers are suddenly treated like lepers. It’s easier to target smokers, but never those whose minds are altered by the consumption of alcohol, never the jeeps that blacken the cities more than the smokers. Never those idiot tv people and politicians who pollute our citizens minds with useless concerns.
We will all die, one way or another. But guess what, I had an 89 year old tita who chain smoked for 62 years and died of a natural old age. I had a marathon runner non-smoking ex-boyfriend who was killed violently, another tita actually survived an aneurism because of blood clots at the back of her neck that were caused by her chain smoking. So there!
Mario Victor Marvic Leonen, all this is crap, and you and I know it. It’s so typical of you to come up with something as asinine as this. Let’s see you enforce it.
Hay naku, Shari, Baguio’s new mayor has a similar ordinance. Come by my blog and read about it.
Oops, sorry, please be a dear and edit that line on the third paragraph to read: “I agree. I am a heavy smoker, and like Marocharim, a considerate smoker.”
And while you’re at it, please remove the ‘which’ after smoking on the 4th paragraph. Of course, ‘blod’ should have a ‘oo’ in it.
Hay naku, the drama in UP and the rest of the world these days pisses me off. I am violently an active smoker. As I say: “Why get it second hand when you can get it brand new?” and “Quitters never win!” So there!
Thanks, Shari girl.
Hindi kami pabor dito..
Bahagi po nito yung pag lessen ng jeeps sa campus or pagbabago ng mga ruta ng jeeps para umiwas sa sentro ng Campus.
Dito po sa UPLB, inilihis ng ruta ang mga jeep - dahilan para maglakad ang mga estudyante papunta sa ibang building at magstrike ang mga jeepney driver dahil sa pagbagsak ng kita.
Hindi lang po sa smoking (pagyoyosi) ito..