Ban won’t be effective

THE government’s move to ban smoking in all eateries has attracted strong views from all sides. No doubt the heated discussions before Jan 1 between restaurant operators and the authorities, and the fanfare organised by the Health Ministry on New Year’s Day sends the message that the government is serious about enforcing the ban.

However, the debate surrounding this ban is a bit misplaced in my view, simply for the reason that this ban is bound to fail. This is not the first time a widespread ban has been imposed on smoking in Malaysia. In fact, there are already 23 designated areas under the Control of Tobacco Products Regulation 2004 in which no one can smoke. But who remembers or, indeed, complies with the provisions of Regulation 11 (1) (h) that bans smoking in “... any area of a government premise” or “... any area of a shopping complex?” as an example?

Furthermore, not many people even realise that the area of Jonker Street or the entire districts of Alor Gajah and Jasin in Melaka are designated by law as nonsmoking areas – which means you cannot light up anywhere in these areas.

I think that the excitement over the smoking ban in eateries is simply due to the resistance that has been expressed by certain parties. The truth is, this ruling will go down in history as another one without a substantive effect on the total smoking situation.

Firstly, it will not be properly enforced. The Health Ministry that is responsible for this has time and again shown that it will take some enforcement actions in the beginning and then lose momentum after some time. We still see people puffing away on government premises and in shopping complexes.

Secondly, it will not affect smoking habits at all. It will not reduce the number of smokers nor their consumption. In fact, government data suggest that the number of smokers have not declined despite the earlier smoking bans. People will just adjust their habits accordingly.

The key issue here is not where people can smoke but the very cheap illicit products flooding the market that smokers have easy access to. These products are sold at between RM3 and RM6 per pack, compared with legal products that are prohibitively priced. That is why the number of smokers in Malaysia has not declined drastically over the years despite increasing regulations and taxation. There is simply an alternative, unregulated market that some parties fail to see is the problem that needs to be urgently addressed.

Which means that the focus of antismoking regulations should not be on where smokers can or cannot smoke, but on halting the supply of cheap products. There is too much excitement over nothing with this ban, driving smoking underground while leaving the actual source of the problem unaddressed.