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Malaysia’s divisive smoking debate a sign of what’s to come for Singapore, New Zealand and other countries mulling age-based bans
- Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin has sparked controversy with his proposal to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2005
- Backers say the sin tax brought in by tobacco products is outweighed by billions of ringgit in health care costs but for smokers and Big Tobacco, old habits die hard
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Anti-tobacco advocates have for years pushed for a “tobacco endgame”, where young people will be banned from ever buying cigarettes in their lifetimes. New Zealand got the ball rolling when it announced its intention to gradually raise the minimum smoking age, so that it would be illegal for anyone born after 2008 to buy cigarettes. Singapore said New Zealand’s proposal was “attractive”, while Malaysia said it was mulling a plan to ban the sale of tobacco products to people born after 2005. In the first report of a three-part series, This Week in Asia takes a look at discussions on kicking the habit in Malaysia, India and the Philippines. Read part two here and part three here.
Smokers in Malaysia often trace their deadly habit back to their childhood.
Retired banker Tengku Zul took up smoking while spending time with his grandparents in rural Kelantan state, where it was common for people to smoke tobacco rolled in dried palm leaves.
Having grown up around smokers, he found it easy to say “yes” when he was handed his first stick – a menthol cigarette from a brand that no longer exists – by a friend at age 13.
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