The nationwide measure, known as Executive Order 26, is similar to the near-universal smoking ban Mr Duterte put in place in Davao City in 2002, when he was the city’s mayor. According to the new order, tobacco cannot be sold within 100 metres of schools, playgrounds or anywhere children might gather. And international observers have accused Mr Duterte of encouraging these vigilantes and overlooking extrajudicial killings by police officers. The Philippines is the second-largest tobacco consumer in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia, according to the Philippines Health Department. He said the national smoking ban could also save thousands of Filipinos -- smokers and those around them, who endure second-hand smoke -- from cancer and other illnesses.

Source: Bangkok Post May 19, 2017 10:07 UTC