The ongoing pandemic has brought to the fore critical issues concerning our health – be it physical or mental – especially in a country like the Philippines that is hard hit by COVID-19. As reported by The Lancet, “the longstanding battle with infectious diseases has been compounded with the rise in non-communicable diseases due to lifestyle changes and an increase in risk behaviors.”
Among these risk behaviors, cigarette smoking can be considered one of the most detrimental to one’s health, more so in light of how tobacco kills approximately 87,600 Filipinos per—240 deaths per day—per The Union in their report.
Even more worrisome, the World Bank notes that around 25% of all deaths related to heart disease and 80% of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. Health experts also stress that smokers are at a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms.
