Possession of contraband cigarettes to become criminal offence in Malaysia

It will become illegal to be in possession of contraband cigarettes under a proposal currently under consideration by the government of Malaysia, according to a story in The Star.

The Health Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, was quoted as saying that his ministry was finalizing proposed amendments to the existing Control of Tobacco Products Regulations.

“As part of government requirements, we will need to engage the public and get their feedback first, but we target to implement this by the first quarter of next year,” he said at a press conference in Putrajaya on Monday.

Liow said the government needed to have stiffer regulations to control the high number of contraband cigarettes available in the country.

He was said to have been quoted in an earlier report as saying that contraband cigarettes accounted for more than 30 per cent of the cigarettes in circulation nationwide.

He had also said that contraband products posed a higher health hazard [presumably than licit cigarettes posed] due to the lack of control in the tar and nicotine content of the former.