Thank you for not smoking: Duterte imposes strict ban on lighting up in public places

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order that will impose a wide-ranging ban on smoking in public, reinforcing some of the toughest anti-tobacco measures in Asia.

Smoking and selling cigarettes will be banned in all enclosed public places, as well as within 100 metres of schools, parks and other areas where children gather, according to the order published late Thursday and which takes effect in 60 days.

Duterte, a firebrand leader most famous for waging a war on drugs in which thousands of people have died, had promised immediately after becoming president last year to introduce the smoking ban as part of a range of measures to impose more order on society.

Other measures included a ban on singing karaoke at night and a 2am curfew on drinking alcohol in public, although these have yet to be implemented.

Duterte rose to prominence as the long-time mayor of the southern city of Davao, which he said he transformed from being crime-ridden into one of the nation’s most liveable and safe urban centres.