Death of monks prompts ban on smoking in temples

Dr Prakit Vathesatogkit, the Action On Smoking And Health Foundation's secretarygeneral, said

the new ministerial issuance to ban smoking in temples as well as in schools and hospitals, will be announced by the Department of Disease Control.

The proposed ban was not only to reduce the number of monks who smoke, "but also because we want the monk to be a role model for Buddhists to give up smoking," said Prakit.

A 2003  2004 study, conducted by the Priest hospital, found that cancer, tuberculosis, and pulmonary emphysema were the most common chronic diseases to affect 18,000 monk smokers during the past few years.

Another study conducted in 2004 by Mahidol University's Faculty of Public Health showed 91 per cent of monks across country supported a prohibition on monks smoking, while 80 percent agreed to ban devotees from giving cigarettes to monks.

"We have seen that over the past few years most monks suffered from smoking or exposure to second hand smoke," said the Mekong river monk network's secretarygeneral, Abbot Maha Worawuth Panyawuttho.

He said many studies had revealed the social problems caused by gambling, smoking and drinking alcohol. Such behaviour could also lead to drug addiction in children. In the Northeastern region, over 35 million people were smokers.

In a bid to fight smoking in temples, the foundation has collaborated with the Mekong river's monk network in a pilot programme creating smoke free zones in 180 temples in five provinces in the northern part of the country.

" The campaign to ban smoking in temples will be a good model for communities to give up smoking, as the temple is the community centre for practising religious activities," he said.

Giving cigarettes to monks is a bad value for Buddhist society, he added.