Baguio wins ASEAN Smoke-free Gold Award in Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Baguio City won the Gold Award at the second ASEAN Smoke-free Awards, recognizing the Philippine city’s efforts to enforce policies that protect residents and visitors from exposure to tobacco smoke.

The awards were presented during the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, hosted and chaired by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health.

The ASEAN Smoke-free Awards initiative is led by the government of Lao PDR under ASEAN Health Cluster 1 in cooperation with the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, or SEATCA, and the ASEAN Secretariat.

The awards recognize smoke-free policy achievements by subnational governments across Southeast Asia and are aligned with the ASEAN Post-2015 Health Development Agenda and the 2017 ASEAN Declaration on Culture of Prevention.

Baguio City received the Gold Award following what organizers described as a rigorous screening process.

George Town in Penang, Malaysia, received the Silver Award.

Five local governments from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand received Bronze Awards.

Singapore received a Special Recognition certificate for what organizers described as consistent and outstanding enforcement of smoke-free policies.

The awards highlight the role of local governments in translating regional tobacco-control commitments into measures that directly affect public health, including reducing exposure to secondhand smoke and strengthening enforcement in public spaces.

“This year’s awardees demonstrate that strict and firmly enforced smoke-free policies are achievable and necessary if millions of lives are to be saved from the deadly tobacco epidemic,” said Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo, Executive Director of SEATCA. “SEATCA will continue to work with these cities to build on their present achievements. We know other governments in Southeast Asia will draw inspiration from these achievements. Local governments are demonstrating that smoke-free environments can and must become the standard all over the region by firmly resisting challenges from the tobacco industry and by placing public health first.”

The Ministry of Health of Lao PDR said the second edition of the awards reflected a shared effort among ASEAN governments to turn regional health commitments into local protections.

“We take pride in leading the ASEAN Smoke-Free Awards initiative under ASEAN Health Cluster 1 together with SEATCA and the ASEAN Secretariat,” stated the Ministry of Health Lao PDR. “This second edition shows our common regional commitment to turning the high-level commitments of ASEAN into real protections for our people. Lao PDR will continue to work together with all the Member States to promote healthier and smoke-free communities.”

The ASEAN Smoke-free Awards build on the “Towards a Smoke-free ASEAN” campaign launched in March 2012 at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Singapore under the late ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan.

The initiative was first endorsed at the 4th ASEAN Health Cluster 1 meeting in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

Organizers said the program recognizes subnational administrative bodies that successfully translate regional health diplomacy into local policies intended to protect lives.

The inaugural ASEAN Smoke-free Awards ceremony was held Aug. 8, 2024, in Vientiane.

Iloilo City won the first ASA Gold Award after receiving the highest evaluation score.

Bogor City, Indonesia, received the Silver Award in the inaugural edition.

Saensuk Municipality in Thailand and Bagan in Myanmar received Bronze Awards in 2024.

The recognition of Baguio in 2026 gives the Philippines back-to-back Gold Award winners following Iloilo City’s victory in the inaugural awards.

SEATCA is a multisectoral nongovernmental alliance that works with ASEAN countries to accelerate implementation of tobacco-control measures under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

SEATCA is an accredited ASEAN entity and an official observer to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Conference of the Parties.

The WHO gave SEATCA the World No Tobacco Day Award in 2004 and the WHO Director-General’s Special Recognition Award in 2014.