In pursuit of no-smoking policy

REFERRING to the letter “Debunking smokers’ views” (The Star, Sept 18), I agree with the writer, Dr Murallitharan who is the director of the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, and support his views on why the Health Ministry should declare open-air eateries as no-smoking zones.

Dr Murrallitharan wrote that the Health Ministry may be worried about the blowback from implementing the move to gazette all eateries as no-smoking areas. I feel sad that the government is not making a stand and taking appropriate action to stop smokers from damaging the health of people exposed to tobacco products through no fault of their own.

I find it inexcusable that the government has not designated openair eateries as no-smoking zones till today just because of the arguments made by the smokers, which are:

1. They should also have a right to smoke and that non-smokers are depriving them of this right;

2. The government has no business regulating smoking;

3. Non-smokers themselves could tell the smoker to stop, or management of eateries should enforce the no-smoking policy instead of the government telling them to do so; and

4. Those who do not smoke should go elsewhere, like air-conditioned eateries.

In my opinion, these arguments are ridiculous because smokers do not have the right to freely damage the health of other people. It is the government’s duty to protect peo- ple from health hazards and catch smokers in no-smoking areas. Smokers do not have the right to freely tell people who do not smoke to go elsewhere, like air-conditioned eateries.

Moreover, as the writer mentioned, the number of people who voted yes to make open-air eateries no-smoking zones is 209,000 versus 19,000 who voted no on the Health Ministry’s online poll on Facebook recently.

This shows that the majority supports the ruling.

So why is the government still hanging back from enforcing the no-smoking policy for open-air food outlets? In the first place, why did the Health Ministry need to hold a poll on this issue? Why do people need to vote for what we all already know is right? The right to health is the most important of all rights and no votes should be allowed to take this away from us.

I hope for the sake of the nation and especially the soft-spoken persons affected by smokers in openair eateries that the Health Ministry will implement the ruling soon and mobilise enforcement officers in plain clothes to catch smokers without fear or favour. Please do not rely totally on “social enforcement”, which could get people with good intentions hurt.

I would like to thank Dr Murallitharan for sharing some truths on this matter. Let us all enjoy a healthier new Malaysia.