It is inappropriate for Malaysia to host a tobacco expo on its shores after pledging to gradually reduce the supply of and demand for tobacco products, said tobacco campaigners.

The biennial expo on ' Emerging Tobacco Markets ' - focusing on tobacco, coffee, tea and chocolate - is scheduled to be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from Nov 14-17.

However, a local lobby, led by the Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control (MCTC), has appealed to the government to stop the expo "aimed at penetrating a wider regional market".

MCTC president Prof Dr Syed Mohamed Al Junid said the council is petitioning Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Kuala Lumpur City Hall to stop the expo.

He said similar attempts to hold the expo in India and Bangladesh had resulted in mass protests and that "the organisers are now zeroing in on Malaysia as the regional tobacco hub".

Withdrawing approval would prove the government's commitment to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which it signed on Sept 23, 2003. The first global tobacco control treaty , it was put together by the World Health Organisation.

It came into force on Feb 27 this year but Malaysia has yet to ratify the treaty, together with 68 of the 169 signatories. The guidelines cover measures to discourage smoking, including designating more smoke-free zones.

No response

Access to the first Asian tobacco congress and trade fair, as it is dubbed on the expo website , will only be for "qualified industry personnel" such as "manufacturers of machinery and tobacco products and their components, leaf merchants and raw material suppliers".

The organisers have also pledged US$3 for tsunami victims for every pre-registered visitor as an expression of their "close ties with the tobacco-growing regions in Asia that are particularly affected".

To date, the MCTC's attempts to get the relevant authorities to revoke the permit for the expo have proved futile.

"We sent a letter to City Hall on May 28, with a copy to its disease control official Dr Zariha Zain, asking it to stop the expo," Syed Mohamed said.

"On June 2, a meeting was scheduled with the mayor, Ruslin Hassan, but it was cancelled at the last minute. No new date has been given. They don't even want to talk (about it). In March, we sent a letter to the PM but there has been no response so far."

Ruslin and Abdullah's aides could not be contacted for comment.

Syed Mohamed said he is alarmed over the sharp spike in the number of smokers among women as well as among children, particularly those between 12 and 18 years old.

"Women used to make up three to four percent of the statistics, but are now registering about eight percent especially in urban areas," he noted.

As the smoking prevalence drops in developed countries, he said, the habit is being picked up in developing countries, "no thanks to the industry's focus on emerging markets and unproblematic laws".

Litmus test

The DAP has thrown its full support behind the MCTC's efforts to stop the expo, saying that to host it would make a "complete mockery" of the government's campaign.

National vice-chairperson M Kula Segaran said "it would send the wrong and dangerous message that the authorities do not mind tobacco publicity and tobacco smoking promotions".

"The prime minister should remain firm and not compromise on this. He should ban the expo and order (City Hall) to withdraw any approval it has issued to the organisers," he said.

"In fact, he should ask the mayor and the Federal Territories Minister (Isa Abdul Samad) for an explanation as to why approval was even given."

Kula Segaran said the health of Malaysians should not be sacrificed for the tourist ringgit.

He said Health Minister Chua Soi Lek should resign as a matter of principle if the government allows the expo to proceed.

"The government's decision on this matter will be the litmus test of its commitment to reduce or even stop tobacco-smoking in the country. We are waiting to see whether this government will pass or fail the test."

GLOBALink, a leading tobacco control network, has started an online petition against the expo, with almost 600 individuals having signed it to date.

The petition addressed to Abdullah is sponsored by Universiti Sains Malaysia's School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the National Poison Centre, which are part of the network.

Meanwhile, the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004 will take effect in Malaysia on June 23, after being deferred earlier this year following appeals from the business community. The health ministry has given an assurance that there will be no more extensions.

Retail outlets and restaurants are required to remove all forms of cigarette and tobacco product advertisements such as specific cigarette brand colours or logos at payment counters or on the glass display cases.

The penalty is a maximum fine of RM10,000 or a maximum two-year jail term or both.

The Star reported on Saturday the deadline for enforcing the law and the ban on sale of 'kiddy-packs' (7s, 10s and 14s) were extended after the Malaysian Coffeeshops Association and the Confederation of Tobacco Manufacturers appealed for more time.