MMA ‘aye’ to enacting laws to increase ‘no smoking’ zones
KUCHING: The federal government’s intention to enact new laws to increase no smoking zones in the country has received the full support from Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).
In a statement emailed from Kuala Lumpur, MMA president Dr Mohamed Namazie Ibrahim said any move by the government to promote smoke-free environments and reduce exposure to Second Hand Smoke ( SHS) is much welcomed.
“Over 1.4 billion people, or 20 per cent of the world’s population, are protected by comprehensive national smoke-free laws and therefore this is a step in the right direction for Malaysia. We are confident also that in the long run, these measures will significantly help reduce the nation’s expenditure on healthcare costs in treating Malaysians affected by illnesses and diseases associated with tobacco smoke,” he said.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad recently announcedthattheHealthMinistry was committed to enacting a standalone Tobacco Control Act in the near future which would see most public places designated as nosmoking zones.
Dr Dzulkefly had explained that it was not his or the ministry’s intention to outlaw smoking, but the move was to ensure the public, especially woman and children, did not fall victim to ‘second hand smoke’.
According to Dr Mohamed Namazie, MMA also shared the same concerns expressed by the health minister on the harmful effects of second hand smoke on the people’s health, in particular women and children.
“The effects of second hand smoke are serious. If you look at the World Health Organisation ( WHO) statistics, it causes 890,000 premature deaths per year globally. In adults, it causes serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including coronary heart disease and lung cancer. In infants, it can cause sudden death and in pregnant women, it may cause low birth weight,” he added.
He said apart from shopping malls, eateries and offices, MMA hoped that the government might consider conducting awareness campaigns to prevent smoking in vehicles as families, colleagues or friends traveling together could be directly exposed to second hand smoke if a person lights up in the car.
He added that in some countries like Australia, Canada and France, there are smoking bans for private vehicles whereby a person could be fined for smoking in a vehicle in the presence of a minor or a pregnant woman.
“This may require the involvement of other ministries but we feel this is an important area to be addressed. We also look forward to continuous efforts to increase awareness on the harmful effects of tobacco smoke and second hand smoke in schools so that healthy habits can be instilled early among our younger generation who will be contributors to our nation’s economy in the future,” he said.
A nationwide ban on smoking in eateries was imposed effective January 1 this year. Sarawak was, however, the last to implement the smoking ban at eateries, which took effect on March 1.
Since then, there have been calls for the ban to be imposed in public places.
According to the Control of Tobacco Product (Amendment) Regulations 2018, the no-smoking ban is applicable to an ‘eating place’. Smokers, however, could light up three metres away from those premises.