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• Ban On Cigarette Sponsorship For Sports To Stay 

The ban on cigarette sponsorship for sports activities, especially football, will not be withdrawn by the government, deputy minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Razali Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat Thursday.

Razali said there will be no change in the government's commitment to support the World Health Organisation's (WHO) global ban on cigarette companies sponsoring any kind of sports activities under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

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• 'Smoking' for trouble 

LIMBANG: 'Kemt' and 'Pally' are names that trigger an anxiety attack among parents here.

They are cigarette-shaped sweets that are packaged like cigarettes. At first glance, the sweet boxes look like real cigarette boxes. Parents are worried that such sales gimmick may eventually tempt children to start smoking.

Ibrahim Tapa, 38, said the products, known as 'Smoke Candy' here, were believed to be imported from China and were sold at 50 sen per box.

Unethical and illegal

This kind of gimmick by traders goes against the government's anti-smoking policy, where millions of ringgit is spent to discourage people from picking up the smoking habit and is making a mockery of the government's effort to create a healthy society."

A Borneo Post survey here showed that several traders were selling 'Smoke Candy' openly.

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• 'Ban sale of value brand cigarettes'  

GEORGE TOWN, MALAYSIA - The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) has proposed that premium brand cigarettes should be priced at RM30 (S$12.285) for a pack of 20. The price now is less than RM10 (S$4.095).

CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris also called yesterday for a ban on the sale of "cheap/value brand" cigarettes, which are priced between RM2.20 and RM2.50 per pack of 20.

He lauded the move mooted by Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai that from January, a minimum price of RM6.20 be fixed for a pack of 20 cigarettes.

"However, we feel the price is too low and will not bring about a major impact. We feel the price should be fixed at RM30 for a pack of 20-stick cigarettes," Idris said..

"Ideally, tobacco should be banned completely. The country should be moving in this direction." yesterday.

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• Spencer Azizul plays on the emotion in anti-smoking ad 

AS this year's Tak Nak anti-smoking campaign enters the final laps, it culminates in showing not just the physical effects of smoking on the smokers but also the emotional toll on both the smokers and their families.

Spencer Azizul Sdn Bhd, the advertising agency tasked with developing the Health Ministry campaign, began the year with graphic ads depicting diseases of smokers.

It has put in more ammunition since July. Spencer Azizul has introduced statistics into the Tak Nak print ads to better convince sceptics and has launched a three-minute TV commercial - the longest TV spot it has ever done.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai told the agency that he wanted the commercial to show not only what smoking did to the smoker but also the effects of smoking on his family and others around him. . . .

Due to its length and budget constraint, the ad cannot be shown frequently, so the agency had to be very selective in the programmes chosen and the periods to air the commercial. It is mostly run during prime time.

Senior copywriter Juliet Tan says now that the ad showcases how families suffer, hopefully the family members of smokers would urge the smokers to stop. "If they get sick, the family members will have to take care of them."

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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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• 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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• 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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• Cuepacs told to remember non-smokers 

KUALA LUMPUR: Cuepacs is ignoring the rights of non-smokers when it opposed the Public Service Department's stand on no-smoking at government departments and agencies.

Prof Dr Rahmat Awang of Universiti Sains Malaysia's National Poison Centre and Malaysian Trades Union Congress adviser on indoor air quality Dr T. Jayabalan said Cuepacs must be seen to serve the rights of non-smokers as much as it wanted to protect the rights of smokers.

They said it had been proven that ventilation systems could not filter the particles and gases in tobacco smoke to safe levels. . . .

They were responding Cuepacs' call to PSD not to impose a blanket ban on smoking in government premises but to provide smokers with designated smoking areas. It was reported in a local daily recently that the PSD would monitor the no-smoking rule at government premises. The PSD had also said government servants were prohibited from smoking in government premises.

Dr Rahmat said the notion that designated smoking areas was a responsible alternative to a smoking ban was flawed.

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• Government acts to put an end to 'dirty tactics' adopted by tobacco companies 

The war against smoking has been further intensified with a ban on tobacco companies and retailers from giving gifts when selling cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The measure takes effect immediately with the amendment of the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations by the Health Ministry.

There is also a proposal to expand non-smoking zones to cover hotel lobbies and air-conditioned workplaces.

Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said retailers were not allowed to sell tobacco products with any other items or sell items and give away tobacco products for free.

The regulations were also amended to ban anyone from offering tobacco products or items promoting a tobacco product as gifts, and as prizes in lotteries, raffles, lucky draws, games or competitions.

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• JOHAN JAAFFAR: Put Adnan on cigarette packets, not hideous images 

THOSE disgusting images on the packets of cigarettes mean little to smokers. . . .

Some years ago the regional office for the Western Pacific of the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that half of all Malaysian men smoke. The study also showed that every day about 50 teenagers below 18 begin to smoke and about 30 per cent of boys aged between 12 and 18 smoke.

WHO acknowledges the fact that the Western Pacific Region, which includes East Asia and the Pacific, has the highest smoking rate in the world. . . .

We should think out of the box. The answer does not lie only in campaigns to deter people from smoking. We should now harp on people changing their lifestyles. Modern life dictates certain conventions. A hectic lifestyle is unavoidable. Eating habits, too, have a major bearing on our people's health. . . .

Learn from Adnan Osman, the 67-year-old sportsman extraordinaire. He quit smoking only when he was 50. The decision changed his life. He has since run 12 marathons, climbed all 12 mountains above 2,100 metres in this country, reached the peak of Gunung Tahan 15 times and Mount Kinabalu thrice. He attempted to cycle all the way to Beijing for the last Olympics, only to be turned away at the border. He has just completed the most gruelling foot race in the world, the Marathon of the Sands in Morocco.

Adnan did not quit because of the frightening images on the packets of cigarettes. He did it because he wanted to change his lifestyle for the better. There are lessons to be learnt here. It takes more than warnings, campaigns and sin taxes to make people quit smoking. The determination to turn a new leaf and to be healthy made Adnan quit his 33-year old habit.

He should appear on the packets of cigarettes, not those hideous images.

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• The rugged cowboy's here 

Marlboro Classics opens its doors in the city with a modern take on the image of the American outdoors it was built on. . . .

Marlboro Classics isn't even an American brand. It's Italian. Produced under licence from Philip Morris by Marzotto SPA . . .

"Of course, more than two decades have passed and the Marlboro Classics men may have swapped their horses for Land Rovers or even Porsche Cayennes," said Federico Ruffo, Marlboro Classics Asia business director.

"The brand is less 'raw' and more sophisticated but its essence remains -- Marlboro Classics is all about the American outdoors, the desert and the wide open spaces," he added.

For its latest campaign, the brand engaged British Olympian swimmer Mark Foster for a shoot in Wyoming, Nevada.

"We cannot run away from the brand's history as we continue to improve and make the brand relevant to current trends," he said. . . .

Ruffo said the brand produces 400 items per season and some of the bestsellers are its polo tees, belts, footwear, jeans and cargo pants.

"My personal favourites are the jeans and polo tee.

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Marlboro Classics is all about the American outdoors, the desert and the wide open spaces. We cannot run away from the brand's history as we continue to improve and make the brand relevant to current trends.
Federico Ruffo, Marlboro Classics Asia business director, on the brand's new push in Malaysia. Philip Morris reps have testified that it no longer markets a Western theme in the US.

• Philip Morris sets up more ICT centres 

Tobacco company Philip Morris (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has teamed up with non-profit organisation Yayasan Salam Malaysia (Salam) to build three more information and communications technology (ICT) centres.

The centres, costing a total of RM115,000 to set up, are located in Jerlun (Kedah), Pekan (Pahang) and Batu Rakit (Terengganu). Philip Morris has eight other ICT centres around the country.

Each centre is equipped with 11 computers, broadband connection, shared printer and local area network, and are used to teach ICT skills to rural folk. The centres are part of Philip Morris' corporate social responsibility programme to address the needs of underserved communities.

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• Kenaf tipped to replace tobacco 

Todate, some RM35mil has been allocated under the Ninth Malaysia Plan for kenaf planting.

More recently, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation endorsed Malaysia's initiative by agreeing to test the commercial use of kenaf via funding from the Netherlands-based Common Funds for Commodities.

Kenaf, scientifically known as hibiscus cannabinus, is a jute-like plant from the hibiscus family that can be used as a raw material to make a multitude of products like high quality paper, bicomposites for automotive door trimmings and interior shelving, bioplastics industry, building materials like medium-density fibreboards and even high protein animal feed.

In fact, kenaf planting is heavily promoted by the Government as an alternative crop for the less competitive local tobacco farmers to consider in the advent of the Afta.

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• Muslim smokers worse than cows: Malaysia cleric  

Muslims who smoke and try to portray themselves as pious are worse than cows which defecate in the street, a top Malaysian Muslim cleric and politician said.

"...a cow which defecates in the middle of the road, (we) cannot take legal action against it because it has no brain and cannot think," said Nik Aziz who is the spiritual leader of the country's Pan-Islamic Party (PAS).

"But human beings, who have brains, for them to do something which is wrong in religion ... when they are in an attire which symbolizes Islam, they can be regarded as being more despicable than cows," he said on Friday, according to Malaysia's state news agency Bernama.

PAS is one of the three parties in Malaysia's opposition alliance led by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Nik Aziz said that smoking was forbidden by Islam.

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• Morning Rounds - Flu Drugs, a University Probe and Banned Generics 

Malaysia national field hockey team has ordered players who smoke to enter rehab and quit after the team failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics last year and finished last in a tournament held on its home turf, Agence France-Presse says. There are ten smokers on the team.

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