In an atmosphere permeated by consumer products and brand allegiance, Pilipinos both in the U.S. and back at home have endured a dominance of cancerous emissions. The World Health Organization recently estimated around ten Pilipinos (in the Philippines) die every hour due to conditions and diseases inherent to heavy consumption of cigarettes. The negative effects are not limited to the smoker:
“Even if a person does not smoke, the WHO warns that second-hand smoke causes hundreds of thousands of deaths to non-smokers due to the same smoking-related diseases.”
Combined with sometimes cramped living conditions, poor quality of smoke filters, and just overall volume of smokers, it may be near-impossible for the few non-smokers to avoid becoming a part of the WHO's statistic.
When visiting the Philippines I saw cigarettes were on every corner and smoked by all ages. Given the financial costs of smoking (sometimes a majority of the average day's wages are spent on cigarettes), and the health costs to everyone around, there is a driving downward effect on the economic power of the common citizen.
If you had similar experiences dealing with the pervasiveness of smoking whether in the Philippines or in the U.S., please share your stories in the comments.
*Photo by The Knowles Gallery
Source:
Smoking Kills 10 Filipinos Every Hour [Inquirer]
