Increase cigarette prices, Fomca tells govt

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) has urged the government to raise cigarette prices and also reduce nicotine and tar content in cigarettes.

"It's a wise move and the government should also think of educating the public from a young age," said Fomca's chief executive officer Datuk Paul Selvaraj.

He also suggested that advertisements on tobacco be banned as a way to reduce the number of smokers in the country.

It had been reported that the Health Ministry would in the next two weeks, seek public feedback online on its tough plan to discourage Malaysians from ruining their health through smoking.

Presently, cigarettes sold in Malaysia contains 20mg of tar and 1.5 mg of nicotine while in UK the tar level is 10mg and nicotine is capped at 1.0mg.

A spokesperson from the British American Tobacco when contacted said the company will wait for a decision from the government and declined further comment.

The proposal to increase the price of cigarette and lower the content of tar and nicotine drew mixed reaction from the public.

Imran Ismail, 33, agreed with the suggestion of reducing the amount of tar and nicotine in cigarettes.

"By reducing the amount of nicotine and tar, smokers will be less addicted to cigarettes."

Imran also said smokers should not be allowed to smoke in public areas and only in designated areas.

"There should be adequate enforcement to ensure they are penalised for not adhering to such a regulation. When smokers are isolated in public places, they would feel embarrassed and this might make them want to stop smoking," he said.

Sabrina Abbas, 28, disagreed with the suggestion saying that it would not stop her or any other smokers to quit smoking.

"Smokers will keep on smoking. Even if the price of goes up to RM50 per pack, I would still buy it," she said.

25-year-old Fred Ng also echoed similar sentiments.

“Smoking is still smoking. Whether the government reduces the nicotine and tar levels or not, it will not discourage people from smoking," Ng said.

Meanwhile, IT engineer Tan Ziwei said the public cannot rely on the government’s action alone to curb the smoking habit.

"The youngsters will always follow the footsteps of the elders. People should educate their children from a young age to ensure they do not pick up the smoking habit later in their lives."