Everyone must try to stop sale of small packets

SEPT 16 not only commemorated the 54th year of the establishment of the Malaysian Federation, it also marked the 12th year of Malaysia’s ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Since 2005, the Malaysian Government has made numerous achievements in tobacco control, consistent with the legal obligation of this important international health treaty.

To protect minors, Article 16.3 of the Convention clearly states: “Each Party shall endeavour to prohibit the sale of cigarettes individually or in small packets which increase the affordability of such products to minors.”

A ban on the sale of such packs, also known as kiddie packs, was implemented on June 1, 2010. This prohibition, constituted in the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004, only came into effect after several delays and many calls by non-government organisations.

Regretfully, over the past few weeks, tobacco companies and their representative groups such as the Federation of Sundry Goods Merchants Association of Malaysia (FSGMAM), Malaysia-Singapore Coffeeshop Proprietors General Association (MSCSPGA), the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) and the Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) have been making a lot of noise to bring back the sale of kiddie packs of cigarettes.

These retailer associations have allowed themselves to be led astray. The coffeeshop association should focus on serving food in a clean and smoke-free environment for their customers who include children. People serving food should not even be smoking or selling cigarettes.

The bulk of the cigarette business in Malaysia is controlled by just three foreign transnational tobacco companies. It is arrogant and disrespectful of them to think they can undermine our public health laws. Their addictive and hazardous products take away 20,000 lives every year in Malaysia but they are trying to scare the Malaysian Government with unsubstantiated claims of economic losses.

We, the Malaysian Women’s Action for Tobacco Control & Health (MyWATCH), on behalf of women, children and families, wish to tell the tobacco companies to stop bullying the Government and the Malaysian people. Kiddie packs are banned – keep it that way.