MMA: Cigarette price increase necessary

The Malaysian Medical Association has welcomed the move by British American Tobacco (BAT) to raise their cigarette prices by 20 sen.

“We were expecting to see it in the recent budget. It is a good start, but we feel further price increases are necessary to reduce the number of smokers in the country.”

He said according to World Bank Data, the prevalence of smoking in the country was high and over 50 per cent of men aged 15 and above smoke.

“Compared to other countries in Asia, our cigarette prices are still relatively low. Higher prices would be more of a deterrent to younger smokers, who are the people we want to target,” Dr Manalan added.

On Sunday, BAT announced that there would be a 20sen increase on the prices of all its cigarette packs effective Monday.