Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is set to sign a regulation this month banning smoking in public across Southeast Asia's second-most populous country, rolling out among the toughest anti-tobacco laws in the region.
Public health campaigners who have long battled against the country's hefty tobacco lobby welcomed the push to end smoking in public places and said they believed Duterte, with his tough anti-vice record, was the man to do it.
Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial told Reuters on Tuesday she hoped the president would sign the ban, which expands the definition of public places, into law before the end of October and that it would come into effect next month.
She was quoted by newspapers as saying that no smoking would be allowed in public places, whether indoor or outdoor.
"Parks, bus stations, and even in vehicles. All these are considered public places," she said, according to media. She later clarified the law would apply only to public vehicles.
Designated smoking areas will be set up, at least 10 meters (33 feet) outside buildings, according to a draft of the executive order seen by Reuters.
Around 17 million people, or nearly a third of the adult population, smoke in the Philippines, according to a 2014 report by Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, - the second highest in the region after Indonesia. Nearly half of all Filipino men and 9 percent of women smoke and experts say the habit costs the economy nearly $4 billion in healthcare and productivity losses every year.

Philippines set to roll out tough no-smoking law
A smoker places a cigarette stub on a tray filled with stubs beside a road in Las Pinas city, Metro Manila Philippines August 7, 2015. (Reuters)
Reuters, Manila
Tuesday 11 October 2016
Last Update: Tuesday, 11 October 2016 KSA 18:47 - GMT 15:47
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