Mindanaotoday.com | DepEd-10 beefs up smoking ban in schools
By: Franck Dick Rosete
In a media forum on Thursday, June 2, Dr. Myra Yee, DepEd-10 medical officer, said that they have been implementing an absolute smoking ban within the school premises in the entire region and DepEd-10 offices in the region.
The DepEd has also started implementing the absolute selling ban of cigarettes within 100 meters from the school and absolute ban on partnership from all Tobacco companies.
Yee stressed that the said interventions will help maintain the good health, not just to the children and employees in school but also for the employees of DepEd.
The said program is apart from the DepEd’s Oplan Kalusugan.
“This is serious. As we all know that our learners are very crucial, especially in their adolescent period (10-19 years old) which can be prone to all types of addiction, including Tobacco,” Yee said, as she explained the crucial phase of a person’s adolescent period.
Apart from the Tobacco control program, the DepEd-10 also underscored the National Drug Education Program, which caters not only in Tobacco but also in substance abuse and alcoholism.
In smoking, Yee said they already conducted empowerment training for tobacco coordinators to the 14 divisions of DepEd in Northern Mindanao.
“We also have training for brief tobacco intervention, especially those [students] who already have a problem in addiction,” she added.
On the other hand, Dr. Rey Ignacio Cagang, Dentist III, the focal person of DepEd’s National Drug Education Program, did not neglect the fact that there were students who had been caught smoking or under the influence of liquor within the school premises.
However, he assured that the DepEd will always apply the standard operating procedures for such cases.
“Once we catch a certain student, we have standard operating procedure with that. We refer them to the guidance counselor, inform the school head and the guidance counselor will call up the parents to inform the behavior of their child,” Cagang said.
He also stressed the importance of parents’ participation to avoid children from different types of addiction.
In the month of June, the country is observing the National No-Smoking Month.
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