PiNoy PEP TALK on Health

(@Botanic Gardens Singapore)

The UFPCS Family successfully conducted their 1st knowledge-sharing exercise on the topics of Diabetes as well as the comprehensive issues of Smoking and its effects.

Held at the Botanic Gardens Singapore, the talk was conducted by our in-house health experts as well as volunteers from the National University of Singapore, Ms Catherine Perez Rn, Mrs Ma Cristina Bernardino Rn, and Mrs Ligaya Zinampan Rn.

UFPCS has embarked an unprecedented milestone for the OFWs in Singapore as regards future learning and basic education.

Smoking generally has negative health effects, because smoke inhalation inherently poses challenges to various physiologic processes such as respiration.

Diseases related to tobacco smoking have been shown to kill approximately half of long-term smokers when compared to average mortality rates faced by non-smokers.

Smoking caused over five million deaths a year from 1990 to 2015. Smoking is one of the most common forms of recreational drug use. Tobacco smoking is the most popular form, being practiced by over one billion people globally, of whom the majority are in the developing countries.

Less common drugs for smoking include cannabis and opium. Some of the substances are classified as hard narcotics, like heroin, but the use of these is very limited as they are usually not commercially available. Cigarettes are primarily industrially manufactured but also can be hand-rolled from loose tobacco and rolling paper. Other smoking implements include pipes, cigars, bidis, hookahs, and bongs.

Facts about Singapore Botanic Gardens:

The Singapore Botanic Gardens (the Gardens) was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Bonn, Germany.

The Gardens is the first and only tropical botanic garden on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. It is the first in Asia and the third botanic gardens inscribed in the world following Orto botanico di Padova and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The inscription bid process started in 2010 following a feasibility study commissioned by the then-Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, in consultation with experts, academics and other stakeholders, like the Singapore Heritage Society. The study then showed that there was a case for the Botanic Gardens to be put up as cultural site based on the UNESCO criteria, and there was broad consensus to proceed with the bid.

In January 2014, Singapore formally submitted the official Nomination Dossier for the bid, following an extensive four-month long public consultation process.

On 15 May, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) released a recommendation for the Gardens to be inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its evaluation guided the discussion of Singapore’s bid at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC).