Malaysia will ban all advertisements by tobacco companies and their sponsorships of any kind of activity by July 2003, reports said today.

The move was in line with the World Health Organisation's efforts to institute a global law to regulate tobacco, health ministry director-general Mohamad Taha Arif was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times .

He criticised local television stations for inserting tobacco advertisements while airing the ongoing football World Cup finals.

"It is unfortunate for Malaysians because the World Cup matches they watch are polluted with sponsorship advertisements by the tobacco companies," he said.

But the government has ordered that its message on the negative effects of smoking be aired on television constantly, especially during prime time."

Mohamad Taha said women smokers were increasing, with a WHO study showing the ratio of female to male smokers among teenagers in Malaysia rising from one to six in 1996, to one to four in 1999.

Tobacco firms raked in at least RM 6.6 billion ringgit in annual revenue but the government spent about RM 4.8 billion a year to treat those with smoking-related diseases, he added.