Warning: everybody smoking in public

People in areas of Malaysia affected by the smoke from forest fires in Indonesia are being advised not to smoke tobacco during the crisis.

The deputy director of the Health Ministry’s Disease Control Department, Dr. Zainal Ariffin Omar, said smokers would stand a higher chance of contracting smoke-related illnesses.

Smokers would inhale not only cigarette smoke but also the dust particles from the air, he said.

This would eventually lead to a higher risk of their contracting respiratory illnesses.