No smoking in Penang Hill soon
GEORGE TOWN: Smokers will no longer be able to light up at open spaces in Penang Hill as the popular spot in Air Itam will soon be gazetted as a non-smoking zone.
Penang Hill Corporation general manager Cheok Lay Leng said the initiative was to support the public health commitment set by the Health Ministry.
He said the programme was not only about smoking but was also an effort to inculcate public awareness and protect the environment in Penang Hill.
He said clean, fresh air is vital to the preservation of the hill and will further make it a top destination for ecotourism.
“We want to make this place a hill resort of choice in the country,” he said in his speech during the launching of the “Towards non-smoking gazettement of Penang Hill” programme.
Also present were Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and state Health Department director Datuk Dr M. Sukumar.
Subsequent to amendments to the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2017 on Feb 1, all public and national parks in the country are gazetted as non-smoking areas.
Sukumar said the process of prohibiting smokers from lighting up in the area will take up to four months.
He said the gazette application will be tabled during the state exco meeting before being submitted to the Health Ministry through his department for further action.
Lim lauded the move to extend the smoke-free environment to more areas on the hill.
He expressed hope that tourists to the destination will increase to 1.7 million from 1.6 million last year.
“It is one of the best tourist hangouts here,” he said, adding that six recreational parks in the state have been gazetted as non-smoking zones since 2012.
They are Air Itam Dam, Youth Park, Botanic Garden, Teluk Bahang Dam, Ampang Jajar Park and Mengkuang Dam.