Over 4 million Malaysians smoke every day - study

Sabah Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid said a 2011 poll by the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) showed that about 4.3 million or 20.9 per cent of the Malaysian population smoke every day.

She said the survey revealed that the figure constituted 39.9 per cent of male and 0.7 per cent female.

“Between 10 per cent and 15 per cent or over 100,000 annual deaths in the country are caused by smoking-related diseases. Tobacco users are responsible for contributing to what is otherwise a preventable situation,” Jainab said when closing a seminar on Dangers of Smoking here Tuesday.

The seminar was organised by the Sabah Women’s Advisory Council and attended by some 200 secondary school students, teachers, public servants and members of parent associations.

According to Jainab second-hand smoke could also lead to a global tobacco epidemic that can kill more than eight million people a year by 2030.

She warned that smoking among teenagers had become a worrying trend and if left unchecked could grow worse in future.

“In many cases drug addiction starts from smoking. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the smoking prevalence rate among Malaysian males aged over 15 in 2008 was 43 per cent and three per cent women,” she added.

Meanwhile, Farid Wajdi, chief executive officer of the Mind Hypnotherapy Institute and Indonesian Public Speaking Academy (IPSA), who spoke at the seminar and led quit smoking hypnotherapy sessions with smokers in the audience said GATS study also indicated 8.6 million Malaysian adults were exposed to second-hand smoke at eateries, 7.6 million at home and 2.3 million in the workplace.

Sabah Women’s Advisory Council social committee chairwoman Datin Dr Lungkian Dambul Dumaring proposed that the government send councilors from schools or welfare organisations for hypnotherapy training to help beat and treat smoking addiction among smokers.

She said many parents had also suggested that the price of cigarettes be increased two, three times or higher and to ban the sale of single sticks to deal with smoking habit among youths.