Baguio LGU bags international award for smoke-free-Baguio program

Baguio City, Philippines – Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Councilor Joel Alangsab and members of the Smoke-Free Baguio Task Force (SFTF) received the Healthy Cities Award from the World Health Organization (WHO) during the virtual WHO Awards Ceremony, on Nov. 21.

Said awarding is part of the 9th Global Conference of the Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC) held on Nov. 5.

In said event, WHO recognizes the government of Baguio for its best practices and innovations which were adopted and implemented to promote and protect the health of its urban population amidst the challenges of the pandemic.

This awards program of the AFHC WHO-Western Pacific Region Office, which was started in 2004 is done every two years, to encourage cities in the Western Pacific Region to continue to innovate and demonstrate effective and efficient ways of promoting the health of their urban populations.

The city has been given the international health award due to the city government’s stringent implementation of its “smoke-free ordinance” which prohibits the use, sale, distribution, and advertisement of cigarettes and other tobacco products in the city.

Some practices the city has adopted to ensure the strict implementation of the said ordinance include the continuous information-education-communication (IEC) campaign among its residents, conduct of regular compliance monitoring of residents and establishment on said ordinance, and the provision of assistance to smokers willing to quit.

Magalong, as reported by the Public Information Office of Baguio, stated that the city will continue to uphold its advocacy until the last cigarette is put off in the City of Pines.

Councilor Joel Alangsab, chair of the city’s council committee on health, said they have been successful in implementing the ordinance as shown by the shrunken number of people smoking in the city’s public spaces. He also said a number of successful quitters have also been recorded.

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