Tobacco.org

GUNASEGARAM: 10 ways to snuff out smoking 

EVERYBODY, including tobacco companies, is now agreed that smoking is detrimental to good health. You only have to look at the cigarette packets to know this.

But nicotine is a powerful addictive drug. If you get hooked, it is very tough to give it up.

The best cure is prevention -- stop people from taking up the smoking habit in the first place. That means the target must be the young -- discourage them by all means fair from picking up the habit in the first place. . . .

We need guts and gumption to deal with this. Here are 10 ways to show we have it.

1. Increase cigarette prices. . . .

10. Adhere to international codes, rules and regulations. The world at large has recognised the dangers of smoking. Most countries in the world are signatories to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which sets out measures that can be taken to discourage smoking.

By adhering to provisions of the code, Malaysia can move forward in the fight against smoking, which statistics show is becoming an increasingly serious problem here.

A phased series of actions based on these lines will go a long way towards checking smoking among our children and discouraging smokers from, well, smoking, thereby reducing the incidence of smoking overall.

It is important not to pull punches because of the cost it might inflict on the tobacco industry. The economic damage that smoking causes through health and productivity costs is far more than the benefits the industry contributes.

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No tax cut for tobacco, alcohol under Afta 2010 

Kota Baru: There will be no tariff reduction on the export of rice, tobacco and alcohol from Malaysia when the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) is fully implemented on Jan 1, 2010.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said these items were included in Afta's sensitive list and were exempted from the tariff reduction obligation as agreed to earlier by Asean member countries. . . .

"There will also be no tax cut on other sensitive items such as alcohol and tobacco as this has been discussed with member countries of the grouping," he told reporters after hosting a Hari Raya gathering here, Wednesday.

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Ban on 14-stick packet of cigarettes mid next year 

The 14-stick packet of cigarettes will be taken off the shelves by the middle of next year.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the implementation date for the ban had not been decided but he hoped it would coincide with the World Tobacco Day on May 31.

He said the ban is to further deter Malaysians, especially the young, from picking up the smoking habit.

The National Health and Morbidity Survey 2006 revealed that three million Malaysians are smokers and about 450,000 are aged between 13 and 18.

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Government Discourages Tobacco Planting After AFTA 

PASIR PUTEH, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- Tobacco planters, especially those in the districts of Bachok and Pasir Puteh, should not continue to depend on the crop after the Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) comes into effect starting Jan 1, next year.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said the government would not encourage planters to continue after that and instead was working on the introduction of alternative crops.

"This is because the production cost is too high compared to neighbouring countries," he told reporters during the Pasir Puteh Parliamentary constituency Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations here, on Saturday.

Over 500 people including those of Chinese and Siamese descent participated in the celebrations, which was also attended by the Pasir Puteh Umno Division Chief Zawawi Othman.

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YAN: No freedom to smoke  

Hong Kong cultural activist Leung Man Tao is a smoker. For many times, he just disappeared when we were giving a speech, dining or chatting and was later found smoking outside.

Leung has been devoting himself to Buddhism in recent years and he has even quit alcohol. However, he is still quite persistent in smoking.

When I asked him why, he said that it has nothing to do with “looking for inspiration”, as many thought. In fact, smoking just helps him to concentrate and provides a “sense of being”. . . .

Eventually, smokers may have to smoke in dark alleys like drug addicts.

Therefore, Leung threatened to launch an “anti-anti-smoking” campaign together with other smoking cultural activists in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan next year.

As a repentant former smoker, I can only have sympathy for Leung and other smokers.

Although the anti-smoking movement in Malaysia is less harsh compared to Hong Kong, those disgusting pictures printed on our cigarette packages may be the worse in the world. . . . However, anti-smoking movement is certainly a mainstream of the world community. The world will keep the anti-smoking movement based on personal health and the government's health-care costs.

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Smoking civil servants in Penang to receive free nicotine treatment 

GEORGE TOWN: Civil servants who smoke are eligible to receive free nicotine treatment provided by the state government in a move to turn Penang into a smoke-free state.

State Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said he hoped to encourage people to quit smoking by starting with civil servants.

"It will be an abuse of human rights if we were to hire only non-smokers as civil servants. To make Penang a smoke-free state, we have to put more effort in encouraging the people to stop smoking.

"Our special committee have approved the plan for all advertisement billboard in Penang to bear the slogan 'No Plastic Day' and 'Penang Smoke-Free'.

"We are in the midst of discussion with the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) to materialise the plan," he said when contacted Sunday.

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• BAT wants stricter penalties to smoke out illegal cigarettes 

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT) (4162) wants the government to impose stricter penalties and slap moderate excise duties to curb illegal cigarette trade.

According to the Royal Malaysian Customs, illicit cigarette trade reached a record 36.7 per cent of the country's total cigarette industry.

"We plead to the government for more concrete measures to address the explosive growth of illicit cigarettes," BAT managing director Jack Bowles said in a statement.

Over 80 per cent of illegal cigarettes are found in Peninsular Malaysia. Less than a year ago, one out of four cigarette packs in Malaysia were illegal contrabands but now the situation has worsened into more than one in every three packs.

BAT managing director Jack Bowles said legal manufacturers have lost a significant 11 per cent in legal volumes during the first half of this year to illegal operators.

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One in three cigarette packs in M'sia illegal 

In Sabah and Sarawak, two out of three packs sold are illegal.

These numbers were based on a quarterly survey and study conducted by the Customs Department and the Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manuf acturers (CMTM).

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Malaysia may raise tobacco taxes 11pc 

The Malaysian government may raise tobacco taxes by at least 11 per cent as it takes steps to discourage smoking and cut its budget deficit, according to Maybank Investment Bank Bhd.

The excise duty on cigarettes may be increased by 2 sen to 20 sen (5.7 cents) a stick when the government unveils next year's budget on October 23, Khair Mirza, a Maybank analyst in Kuala Lumpur, said in a report today. He kept a "neutral" rating on Malaysia's tobacco stocks. . . .

Malaysia will impose a ban on the sale of cigarettes packs of less than 20 sticks in the first quarter of 2010, after making companies put graphic health warnings on all cigarette packs this year, Khair said.

"We expect JTI's prospects to be largely unencumbered by the impending changes," Khair said. British American, which is more reliant on the higher-margin smaller packs, might fare less well, he added.

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Cigarette smuggler nabbed 

A 35-YEAR-OLD Malaysian driver was arrested on Saturday at the Tuas checkpoint for attempting to smuggle more than $200,000 worth of contraband cigarettes into Singapore.

The man initially claimed to be transporting some 36 drums of adhesive glue when Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers stopped his vehicle for routine checks.

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Strict ban on smoking in Komtar 

Shoppers and visitors to Komtar in Penang are urged to observe the 'No Smoking' ban or risk getting fined a maximum of RM10,000 or jailed up to two years under the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004.

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• Strict ban on smoking in Komtar 

SHOPPERS and visitors to Komtar in Penang are urged to observe the 'No Smoking' ban or risk getting fined a maximum of RM10,000 or jailed up to two years under the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004.

State Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Com-mittee chairman Phee Boon Poh said enforcement officers from the Health Department would be mobilised from 'time to time' to Komtar to ensure that the smoking ban was not flouted at the gazetted areas.

He added that the move was to create greater awareness on the ill effects of smoking, clean up the air within the Komtar vicinity and revive the state's iconic landmark image.

"We hope the no smoking ban will improve Komtar's image and draw more people to the complex," he told reporters after launching a 'Don't Want to Smoke At Komtar' Campaign at Komtar on Wednesday.

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Forced to smoke 42 cigarettes by hostel warden 

LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA: As punishment for being caught with a cigarette and a lighter in his locker, a Form Four student of SMK Langkawi, Pulau Tuba, was forced to smoke 42 cigarettes by the hostel warden.

Mohd Alif Arifin, 16, said his punishment was witnessed by other teachers and students.

"It went on for more than two hours. I was forced to smoke four cigarettes at a time until I finished 42 cigarettes." . . .

His aunt Faridah Mat Zain said: "The school told me he wasn't feeling well. He was coughing continuously and he was very quiet. But two days later, I noticed his lips were swollen and got him to tell me what happened. He couldn't eat for five days."

He was taken to a clinic which referred him to Langkawi Hospital, she said.

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Student Made To Smoke 42 Cigarettes: Malaysian Schoolboy Given Punishment By English Teacher  

A Malaysian schoolboy was forced to smoke 42 cigarettes in two hours by his English teacher after she found a cigarette in his locker, a newspaper has reported.

Others watched on as the 'model' schoolboy was forced to smoke for two hours

The punishment dished out to 16-year-old Mohd Alif Arifin left him unable to eat for nearly a week because he kept coughing and had swollen lips, the boy's aunt told the New Straits Times.

Fourth form student Alif, who claimed he knew nothing of the cigarette in his locker, told the paper: "It went on for more than two hours.

"I was forced to smoke four cigarettes at a time until I finished 42 cigarettes."

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• Malaysia teacher makes student smoke to punish him 

Malaysian teacher forced a student to smoke 42 cigarettes for four hours as punishment after a cigarette and lighter were found in his locker, a news report said Thursday.

A school official confirmed that the English teacher subjected the student to the unusual punishment, but said the teenager was made to smoke fewer than 42 sticks. He declined to elaborate.

He said the teacher was upset when she found her model student, Mohamad Alif Arifin, had a cigarette and lighter in his locker in the school in the northern island of Langkawi.

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