Malaysian health authorities and consumer movement should take a leaf from the landmark US368.5 billion (RM921.25 billion) settlement by the US tobacco industry and require local tobacco industry to bear responsibility for smoking-related diseases as well as to eliminate youth smoking

It is time that the tobacco industry is made responsible to contribute to the costs of health care in the country arising from smoking-related diseases, especially heart diseases and cancer.

I call on the Cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday to set up a Cabinet Committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs and the Attorney-General�s Chambers to work out a strategy to convene a conference involving the consumer movement and the tobacco industry to get the tobacco industry to make a substantial contribution to the costs of health care arising from smoking-related diseases as well as to reduce tobacco consumption and to ban all forms of direct or indirect tobacco advertising.

In this connection, the Education Ministry should reconsider the sponsorship of the anti-smoking programme in the 1,500 schools by the Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers, which appeared to to divert attention from the real issue to call for a ban on such promotions and sponsorships.

According to a survey conducted in the Klang Valley in 1995 by researchers from local universities, 71 per cent of young people aged between 13 and 21 smoke.

However, would an anti-smoking campaign promoted by the tobacco companies be counter-productive in the same way that despite the ban on direct advertisements, the tobacco industry had been able to use sponsorship of sporting activities to create sub-conscious positive images of the relationship between smoking and healthy activities.

This is probably why despite the ban on direct advertisement, the tobacco industry is valued at RM2.9 billion (based on the sales of cigarettes).

The Cabinet Committee to make the tobacco industry responsible for smoking-related diseases should also end the mixed and confusing signals which the government has been sending out on the anti-smoking campaign, as for instance:

• In 1993 there was mention of completely banning tobacco company sponsorship and advertising of live and sporting events.In 1994, the Information Ministry even said tobacco brand names would be totally absent from live TV events in six years. The then Deputy Information Minister Railey Jeffery said if the move diminished RTM's revenue, "we are not profit-minded ... we prefer to be service-orientated."
• Last January, the Information Ministry told the Health Ministry that it should be wary of the consequences of enforcing a ban on smoking in public places because it could jeopardise the livelihood of tobacco farmers � not to mention the 40 per cent of revenue the country's broadcasting stations derive from the tobacco industry.
• The retreat from the designation of non-smoking areas in the country. Under the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 1993 to ban smoking from public places in 1994, 18 places � public halls, air-conditioned restaurants, sports complexes, service counters, transport terminals, institutions of higher learning, schools, nurseries, kindergartens, airports and state and federal government premises, among others � were designated non-smoking areas. This was in addition to hospitals, clinics, public vehicles, entertainment centres and theatres that had already been gazetted non-smoking zones earlier.
• But this year, after the tobacco companies "gave their views," Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng backtracked and said entertainment centres have been de-gazetted and 30 per cent of any air-conditioned restaurant, public hall, open stadium and transport terminal may be turned into a smoking area.

(22/6/97)