Legazpi City (CNN Philippines) — As part of their continuous education program against smoking, Mayor Sally Lee officially declared Sorsogon City as a smoke-free city on Monday (August 31).
Citing statistics, Lee said that cigarette smoking is one of the biggest threats to public health. She pointed out that about 6 million people die every year due to smoking alone, while about 600,000 die from second hand smoke, 28 percent of which are children.
The mayor said that the declaration was prompted by their commitment to put a premium on the health and well-being of their people. Through the declaration, she said that they expect to lessen the number of deaths due to smoking in the future.
Lee admitted that there are still a lot of work to be done, but the declaration is their first step. So she encouraged the people of Sorsogon City to take part and support their campaign against cigarette smoking for the betterment of everyone.
