KUCHING, July 8: The initiative by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to introduce new laws to curtail smoking, especially amongst the young generation, may be undermined by the prevalence and easy availability of illegal cigarettes in Malaysia including Sarawak, especially in poorer communities.
Raising this concern, Dayak Transformation Association (Trada) president and founder Joseph Janting, claimed that six out of 10 cigarettes sold in Malaysia today are illegal cigarettes that are manufactured overseas or locally.
“In my home state of Sarawak, the problem is even worse. Illegal cigarettes today command more than 80 per cent of the market. Wherever you go, you can see people selling and smoking contraband brands.
“It is a serious problem. I urge the Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and its ministry officers in Putrajaya to visit Sarawak and have a better sense of the dire illicit cigarette situation here and to see the complexity of implementing the new law over here,” he said in a statement today.
Applauding the bold and innovative effort by MOH, Joseph however pointed out that if the ‘Generation End Game’ policy towards a tobacco free generation were to be put in place, there would be a boom for illegal cigarettes as people who are banned from buying legal products will source their cigarettes from these unscrupulous vendors who are aplenty around Malaysia.
Trada thus urged MOH to be steadfast in its attempt to curtail smoking prevalence in Malaysia by tackling the illegal cigarettes trade first and then putting in place new laws and regulations in line with the national health agenda.
Joseph also emphasised that the most significant factor driving illegal cigarettes business is the price difference between legal and contraband products.
“In Sarawak, the most popular contraband brands, namely Era and Premium, are only RM5 compared to RM12, the cheapest legal product. People with lower income have no choice but to buy these cheap illegal cigarettes, which are widely available.
“The Malaysian government must seriously look into excise and tax reforms, enforcing the law on perpetrators of illegal cigarette trade and ending the corruption that fuels this unlawful trade so that MOH can implement its initiatives effectively,” he urged.
Trada noted that in the upcoming Parliament session starting on July 18, MOH is planning to table a set of regulations to curtail smoking and vaping, including banning the sale of cigarettes and vape products to those born after 2005 (Generation End Game), restricting publicly displaying cigarette products for sale and implementing plain packaging on cigarettes. — DayakDaily
