Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) welcomes the news that the Penang government is going to turn Penang Hill into a no-smoking zone and that it will work with the Ministry of Health to gazette the hill into a non-smoking zone.

However, the call for a no-smoking zone should cover the complete area of Penang Hill and designated smoking zones should not be allowed on the hill. The air quality of Penang Hill must be kept pollution-free.

In fact, in 2009, the state government had already announced taking various measures to address the smoking scourge and that it would beef up enforcement against smokers in all public places – beginning with civil servants in government departments and agencies, and in other public areas like the Botanical Gardens and Penang National Park.

However enforcement in no-smoking designated areas is often lacking and must be stepped up to book the offenders.

In 2009, CAP had also called on the federal government to make it a condition that any new applicant for a government job be a non-smoker. The government could first make a public announcement that smokers will not be considered for government jobs. All applicants could then be made to declare on the application form that he/she is indeed a non-smoker.

The government should also discourage and phase out smoking among staff currently in public service, especially those serving in the police force, armed forces and the Ministry of Health.

Those in these departments as law enforcers and administrators of the health system, should provide exemplary behaviour to Malaysians, especially for young ones. Public servants who are already smokers should be required to seek immediate treatment at the government clinics which offer ‘quit smoking’ services.

Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable illness and death in Malaysia. There are more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke - chemicals which are either cancer-causing, toxic or serve as irritants.

Smoking has been universally accepted as one of the leading causes of cancer. Based on government hospital statistics, lung cancer is the most common form of cancer among males. One of the main causes of lung cancer is the use of tobacco.

Smoking in the country has reached alarming proportions. About half of all Malaysian adult males smoke. A study conducted in 1999 found that nearly one in five Malaysian teenagers were smokers. About 50 teenagers are taking up the smoking habit every day.

Smoking causes at least about 10,000 deaths a year, not to mention the enormous costs – running into billions of ringgit – to treat tobacco-related diseases.

The Penang government should take strict measures in combating the tobacco scourge and should not accommodate smokers at the expense of the health of no-smokers. There should be a complete ban of smoking on Penang Hill and the smoking ban should be extended to the Botanical Gardens and the Penang National Park as well.

The writer is president of Consumers Association of Penang (CAP).