JANUARY 9 — And so, the Minister for Housing and Local Government has allocated RM1 million for the establishment of smoking zones, much to public outcry from doctors and anti-tobacco activists. That’s fine – after all, we are moving towards a more democratic society where everyone can voice their opinions, even if it’s against red lanterns for Chinese New Year.
However, will this somehow stop smokers from smoking, or even discourage them from the habit of smoking? Not so much. The fact that cancer rates are now increasing among non-smoking women is a clear sign that the government is not doing enough. In fact, implement this in government offices and public owned infrastructures, and it will make a huge difference in discouraging smokers in the civil service.
For some reason or another, both of these have been abandoned while both would be effective in cutting down the purchasing of cigarettes. And of course, the government should adopt harm reduction by allowing vaping rather than smoking, especially when there is no evidence of secondhand harm thus far.