“CHILDREN will mimic what they see and hear.”

This was the message of Senator Pia Cayetano during the World No Tobacco Day Forum held at the Fabella Hospital, Manila, as she stressed the importance of setting a good example for the youth, in line with this year’s theme, Protecting Children from Tobacco Industry Interference.

In her message, the senator called for more transparency in the marketing and sale of tobacco and vape products, and the dangers they pose to public health.

“Pakinggan ninyo ‘yung sinasabi, ‘yung naririnig n’yo at tingnan n’yo kung ano ‘yung source,” she added, emphasizing the need to listen to the health experts and refer to credible studies and findings that are based on sound research.

The senator also shared that on her way to the forum, she passed by a vape shop with a misleading tagline, ‘Healthy Vaping Experience’.

“This is a blatant violation of the Vape Law,” the senator said.

“There is more to be done to make this a safer place for our children. We all have a role to play in this battle to protect our youth from these harmful products. This requires a whole-of-society approach,” she concluded.

Cayetano, a staunch health advocate and critic of the tobacco industry, has been at the forefront of safeguarding the youth from these harmful products over the last two decades.

The World No Tobacco Day Forum was organized by the Action on Smoking and Health Philippines, the Philippine Pediatric Society, the Lung Center of the Philippines, and the Philippine College of Physicians.