MANILA (Reuters)Mon May 24, 2010. - Senator Benigno Aquino, set to become the Philippines' next president, said Monday he is not ready to quit smoking yet because it could affect his decision making.
Aquino, who smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, said there were more pressing political, social and economic issues to be addressed than his smoking habit.
"When I ran, people knew that I smoked," Aquino, the only son of the country's revered democracy leader, Cory Aquino, told reporters. "I will stop smoking at the appropriate time."
He said quitting now would only add to the pressures he faced.
Aquino's comments came as rules requiring prominent warnings on cigarette packets came into effect Monday, and activists said they would still press for him to kick the habit.
(Reporting by Manny Mogato and Rohini Dasi Vergara; Editing by John Mair and Paul Tait)
