‘Kontra paputok’ drive starts
The Department of Health 6 is pushing for an early campaign against firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.
DOH 6 Director Ariel Valencia said that “as the holiday season is fast approaching, we need to have a massive information campaign against using any firecrackers to further reduce injuries and death.
He said that last year’s records showed that Western Visayas was ranked among the top three regions in the country with the highest cases of firecracker related injuries.
“The National Capital Region being the highest followed by Region 1 and then our region,” Valencia said.
Majority of the firecracker victims in the past were males and most of those injured were children 10 years old and below, followed by the youth and adolescents, aging 11 to 20 years old.
Valencia said he hopes to conduct an earlier campaign together with other support government agencies to increase the public’s level of awareness on the ill effects of firecrackers to body well-being and to life and properties.
The “kontra paputok” campaign of the DOH advocates four schemes to prevent firecracker and fireworks related injuries during the holidays.
The DOH’s four safe ways of making noise are: l) using of pots, pans and paper horns; 2) newver pick firecrackers that failed to explode; 3) if wounded, immediately wash wounds with soap and water and go to the nearest hospital for treatment and 4) never fire guns to greet the new year.*PIA
