Don't light firecrackers, DOH tells adults

Adults and caregivers, be good examples to children this Holiday season.

The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday challenged adults and caregivers in charge of children during the Holiday season to be more vigilant and show good deeds to children by not lighting up firecrackers.

Instead, adults should lead children in looking for safer ways to celebrate the coming Christmas and New Year festivities.

At a press conference launching the 2014 DOH anti-firecracker campaign with the theme “Mahalaga ang buhay, Iwasan ang paputok,” Acting Health Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin said the fleeting joy brought about by firecrackers is “an extreme gamble on one’s future.”

“It is very difficult to return to work or school without hands, arms, legs or injured body parts after losing them to fireworks. Apart from diminished self-esteem, productivity at work and school will also be greatly affected,” Garin said in a statement read by Assistant Secretary Gerardo Bayugo.

“After the pains due to blast wounds come the pain of reality that you cannot function normally anymore because of the loss of these important parts. We can still have wholesome fun while keeping safe,” Garin said.

Calling the annual DOH anti-firecracker campaign “one of the department’s strongest advocacies,” the acting health secretary encouraged the public to use safe merry-making instruments and alternative noise-makers such as “torotot,” car horns, or by playing loud music.

“Mahalaga ang buhay. ‘Wag hayaang masayang ito dahil lamang sa paputok,” Garin said.



She commended the participation of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Ecowaste Coalition in this year’s campaign against firecrackers.

At the same press conference, Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, the DOH spokesman, said it may be difficult to always control the behavior of children, especially with firecrackers.

“Adults should be responsible enough to address this concern. It is lamentable and pitiful for young ones to grow into adulthood with amputated hands. This can affect them mentally and psychologically,” Lee Suy said.

“Adult caregivers have big and important roles to play in keeping an eye on their young wards. They have to be watchful and careful. Once they see children lighting up firecrackers, they should immediately do something to stop them,” Lee Suy said.

Acording to DOH statistics, 1,018 fireworks-related injuries were recorded from Dec. 21, 2013 to Jan. 5, 2014. The number of fireworks-related injuries is nine percent higher compared to the same period in December 2012-January 2013.

The Dec. 21, 2013 to Jan. 5, 2014 figures came from 50 DOH sentinel surveillance hospitals. Most cases in 2013-2014 period came from the National Capital Region (587 cases), and followed by CALABARZON (80), Western Visayas (73), and Ilocos region (65). Of the total cases, 51 percent involved males, aged six to 15 years old. In National Capital Region, Manila and Quezon City registered the most number of cases with 215 and 130 cases, respectively.

Of the 1,018 cases recorded, 997 were due to fireworks injuries, 19 were due to stray bullets, and two due to firecracker ingestion. One death reported was caused by sustained multiple injuries due to explosion of mixed firecracker powder. Of the 997 fireworks injuries, 25 were sustained blast wounds that required amputation.

The remaining 147 cases involved eye injuries. The DOH surveillance statistics also showed that the top fireworks causing injuries were piccolo (38 percent), “kwitis” (11 percent), “Five-star” (5 percent), and “plapla” (4 percent).

About 12 percent were unnamed or unknown fireworks. Piccolo, “Five-star,” and “plapla” are considered illegal. Of the 19 stray bullet injuries, 15 were males and 4 were females, aged from 2 to 65 years old.

Firecracker ingestion cases mostly involved boys from one to six years old. — JDS, GMA News