Baguio City—Baguio City is hoping to get its first Red Orchid Award from the Department of Health with its strict implementation of the “Smoke-Free Baguio” ordinance since May 2017.
The Red Orchid Awards is the DoH’s search among government hospitals, offices, and local government units that implement a 100-percent tobacco-free environment and meet the quality standards on tobacco prevention and control set by the World Health Organization.
Baguio has banned smoking in public places in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 26.
The city’s anti-smoking task force has met with the DoH validation team.
Gaby Keith of the city information office said the validating team was composed of a representative from the DoH central office and officers from a nationally recognized non-government organization that promotes clean air.
Aimed to combat smoking, the “Red Orchid” is the highest award in the national government’s search for a tobacco-free environment, followed by the “Pink Orchid” (second place) and the “White Orchid” (third place).
The criteria for the award are as follows: efforts to implement a 100-percent tobacco-free environment using the WHO’s tobacco-control policies; monitoring of tobacco use and prevention policies; protection of people from tobacco smoke; offer of help to quit tobacco use; warning against the dangers of tobacco; enforcement of bans on tobacco advertising; and raising of taxes on tobacco products.
Since Baguio started its Smoke-Free Baguio drive middle of last year, the city’s anti-smoking task force has apprehended over 1,300 violators.