Tag: Malaysia

Illicit cigarettes take top spot
British American Tobacco (Malaysia) is concerned by the high level of illegal cigarette trade in the country, which is said to form the main challenge to the licit tobacco industry in the short- and medium-term, according to a story in The New Straits Times.
Sales of illicit cigarettes had surpassed those of licit products, the company’s managing director Erik Stoel was quoted as saying.
Illicit cigarettes, which had accounted for 36.9 percent of total cigarette consumption in 2015, had captured a record 57.1 percent by December 2016.
And the outlook for 2017 was dependent on the outcome of the government’s initiatives to curb the illegal trade,” Stoel told reporters after BAT’s annual general meeting in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday.
But the company is nevertheless confident that it can weather these storms.
“The group has a long-standing legacy and presence within the Malaysian economic landscape,” Stoel said.
“While there are currently big challenges facing the tobacco industry, the group has in place a clear strategy and commitment to invest, to help the group navigate through these challenging times.”
April 20, 2017
Illegal trade growing
Malaysia’s second finance minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said yesterday that the illegal cigarette trade was on the rise following the government’s raising of cigarette prices through higher excise duties, according to a story by Fernando Fong for the New Straits Times.
Johari said the duties, which have pushed cigarette prices up to RM17 per pack, were meant to discourage people from smoking.
However, smokers were now turning to contraband tobacco, which was mostly smuggled in from neighbouring countries.
Black market cigarettes were priced at between RM3 and RM5 per pack, which meant that even students could afford them.
Johari said that illicit cigarettes were more dangerous than were licit ones because their tar and nicotine contents were unknown, and he added that they might also contain other dangerous chemicals at higher-than-permitted levels.
He said the government was determined to reduce the supply of low-price, contraband tobacco and aimed to lower the smoking rate in the country.
“The Customs Department will introduce harsher penalties against those who sell illicit cigarettes, which could be tabled in the next parliamentary session,” he said.
April 3, 2017
Smoking survey shocks
Photo by diongillard
A survey in Malaysia has shown that more than one in five male adolescents smoke cigarettes and that of them more than a third smoke 2-5 a day, according to a story in The Star, Kuala Lumpur.
The Tobacco and E-cigarette Survey among Malaysian Adolescents 2016 (Tecma) showed that four out of five of those questioned knew that smoking by anyone below the age of 18 was an offense under the law.
But more than half said they could buy cigarettes easily from supermarkets, grocery stores and roadside stalls.
Published on the Health Ministry’s Institute for Public Health website, Tecma is the first national study of tobacco and electronic-cigarette usage among Malaysians aged between 10 and 19.
In all, 14,833 students from 138 schools in 15 states were surveyed.
Although nearly all of those interviewed knew that smoking was harmful to their health, one in 10 non-smoking adolescents said they were likely to start smoking in future.
The survey found that most students had heard about electronic cigarettes and vaping, and that one in five had tried it.
Tecma recommended that the devices be made illegal for underage users, whether or not the devices contained nicotine.
Last month, the Health Ministry’s Control of Tobacco Product (Amendment) Regulations 2017 came into force. Under the new regulations, smoking is no longer allowed in a number of outdoor public places popular with young people.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Chong Sin Woon said a ministry meeting would be held to discuss the survey.
Describing the results as shocking, he said something had to be done to address the issue of student smokers.
March 6, 2017
Greek cardiologist supports e-cig use
Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, a cardiologist from Greece, has argued that e-cigarettes should be made available to smokers who want to stop using combustible cigarettes but don’t want to give up nicotine, according to Mayalsia’s The Star.
Farsalinos, who is a cardiologist and researcher at the University of Patras’ Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, has indicated that e-cigarettes play an important role in tobacco harm reduction. “Most smokers do not want to go to the doctor,” he said in a media briefing initiated by the Malaysian Organisation of Vape Entity.
Farsalinos also quoted studies that said current nicotine-replacement therapies had a success rate of less than 6 percent, while oral medications had a success rate below 20 percent. He argued that e-cigarette use was a more acceptable method for smokers to reduce smoking, saying e-cigarettes are 95 percent less harmful than cigarettes.
Malaysia’s health minister, Datuk Seri Dr. S. Subramaniam, on Aug. 13 announced that the country’s ministry of health was in discussions with various agencies and parties about the effects different methods of smoking have on an individual’s health. He urged the public to stop using e-cigarettes until comprehensive findings on the risks involved in vaping were released.
Of the 400 Malaysian smokers aged 18 and above surveyed online by Ipsos from June 3 to June 17, 82 percent believed that “e-cigarettes represent a positive alternative to today’s [combustible] cigarettes,” and 75 percent would “consider switching to e-cigarettes if they were legal, met quality and safety standards, and were conveniently available like regular tobacco products,” according to John Boley, co-founder of the consumer advocacy group Factasia.org.
October 5, 2015
‘Exclude tobacco from trade pact’
The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has urged for tobacco to be excluded from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), according to a report in The Star.
According to MMA President Datuk N.K.S. Tharmaseelan, the overall objective of the TPPA was to increase and facilitate free trade of goods and services, but it should not apply to tobacco.
“Tobacco is the only product that kills half its users prematurely, causes numerous diseases and reduces productivity.
“There is simply no justification for tobacco to enjoy the privileges of free trade,” he said in a statement.
The TPPA is a U.S.-sponsored trade agreement that is being negotiated by 12 countries—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States.
August 14, 2013
BAT benefits from reduced illicit trade, says CEO
British American Tobacco (BAT) is benefitting from the gradual deflation in the illicit trade of cigarettes locally due to the improved regulatory environment in Malaysia, according to a story posted on The Star Online.
Managing director Datuk William Toh said the illegal buying and selling of cigarettes had declined last year by 1.6 percent compared to 2011.
“We saw a slight reduction in illicit trade to 34.5 percent of (overall) volume last year.
“Due to this, we are seeing a 0.24 percent growth in legal volume, which is the first time in many years where we have enjoyed volume growth,” Toh said at a briefing after the company’s AGM.
“This is good news and we hope the Government will continue to put in more effort into this area. Illicit trade at 34.5 percent is high by any standards.
“It is a difficult challenge as we have long coastlines with neighbouring countries where smugglers can easily enter,” he added.
BAT attributed the reduction in illicit trade to the sustained excise duties for two consecutive years and the increased role by the various enforcement agencies such as the Customs and border patrol in nabbing smugglers.
April 22, 2013
Malaysia to stamp out smuggled-cigarette smokers
The city hall in the Malaysian city of Kota Kinabalu, proposed that buyers of contraband cigarettes be penalized along with the sellers of the smuggled smokes, according to a story in the the Borneo Post.
Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir, who made the proposal in his speech during the launch of Ops Pacak 2013, said buyers of contraband cigarettes have never been implicated by the relevant authorities in the effort to stamp out the smuggling and sale of contraband items, including cigarettes, in Sabah.
“All this while, we have only compounded or sentenced to imprisonment the smugglers and contraband peddlers. We never penalized the customers. Hence, it is time for us to think of imposing strict penalties on the buyers,” he said.
Abidin said that for a start, buyers caught with these contraband items should be given warnings or reminders that their action of buying such illegal items will not be without incrimination.
“The aim of this is to remind them not to become contributors to the flooding presence of illegal cigarettes in the local market,” he said.
Abidin also spoke on the city’s role as a tourist location and how the presence of illegal cigarette peddlers was an eyesore.
“On the part of DBKK (City Hall), we have often received complaints from the public about the sales of contrabands within the city. We only have a limited number of enforcers and are ill-equipped to handle the threat posed by certain peddlers and cigarette smugglers,” he said.
April 16, 2013