Malaysia a smoke-free nation soon?

Malaysia has adopted two strategies to eventually make the entire country a smoke-free zone, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

One is to increase, in stages, the smoke-free zones in the country and the other, to reduce the number of places where cigarettes are allowed to be sold, he said.

"These are two of the strategies to control and reduce the number of smokers. Eventually, we are hopeful that the country can be declared a smoke-free zone although we do not know when that can be realised," he told a news conference.

Dr Subramaniam said another long-term measure was to raise the price as well as the duty on cigarettes.

At the event, the minister handed over certificates of appreciation to six retailers and traders at Complex E here who had voluntarily stopped selling cigarettes at their premises.

Praising the initiative by the shopkeepers, Dr Subramaniam said he hoped that more retailers and traders in the federal government administrative centre would emulate their example.

He said as a ministry responsible for maintaining the people's health, it was only proper that greater restrictions on smoking be enforced at the ministry itself.

As such, he said, since the monitoring of and enforcement of restrictions on smoking were implemented at the ministry on May 1, thirteen notices pertaining to offences and seven warnings had been issued.

Furthermore, all staff at the ministry who smoke had been instructed to attend programmes to give up the habit and staff who did not smoke were enlightened on the dangers of cigarette smoke, he said.