Open Letter to Minister of Health: Recommend to ban smoking at all public area except where designated as special smoking area that is localized.

Open letter to Ministry of Health- Malaysia

I would like to suggest Health Ministry to ban smoking at all public area except localized area that is designed to contained and well-ventilated for smoking cigarettes. This should extend to all public areas including restaurant open

area.

The 2011 Global Adult Tobacco survey which found that a majority of respondents wanted all public places to be smoke free. Whether for economy& heath reason, majority of people or smoker's family members want smoking to be stop at once. Special designated area may be allocated for smoker(if they want to suffer and die) but not fair to let second smoker suffer the effects. Therefore, there is no reason why government still delaying in making smoking ban in all public area.

Businesses who find reason allowing smoking in their premises may allow so, as long as special designed smoking zone is allocated and that such area shall designed in such a way not affecting others outside the designated smoking area(e.g. exhaust air vent output shall be treated) and must not be in common area such as corridor.

Signboard, direction sign or any such indication shall be made explicitly to designate the area. Such designated smoking area shall be keep a maintenance record and inspected by authority(or third party recognized by your ministry) on regular basis (e.g. twice a year) to ensure fit for its purpose. Additionally, I would like to suggest such designates smoking area size shall not exceed 10% floor area of the functional area of the premises or 10% of the occupancy capacity, whichever lesser. 

*Occupancy capacity may based on or

local building code. 

Your ministry (Health Ministry) estimated that 100,000 Malaysians die of smoke-related illnesses every year. Rm 3billion is spent every year to chronic cancer associated with smoking which prompt Health Ministry to aim reduction of smoker to 15% from 23%, in September 2016.

Malaysia became a Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on December 15, 2005. Malaysia ranked 71st per capita cigarettes consumption, with average of 646 cigarettes burned by each smoker each year.

As of now, government had gazetted all national and all central-air conditioned area, government building, public transport, petrol station, state parks, area in nursery, school bus, playgrounds, camp sites and public parks in Peninsular Malaysia as no smoking areas. Although enforcement of it still very lax. Smoker floating the ban is risking penalty of Rm10,000 and 2 years imprisonment.  Another initiative is to increase cigarettes price from Rm17 to Rm21.50.

*The blog is solely created and maintaining with my own resource only. No obligation but any amount of ex-gratia to support the continuation of my writtings is appreciated.

Maybank (Malaysia)account number : 1643 1529 3268 (Tay Kian Guan)