We refer to your report on the recent Youth Smoking Prevention Media Campaign which was launched by Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who is also the president of the Malaysian Association of Youth Clubs (MAYC).

CAP is very disturbed that tobacco companies, which are responsible for promoting the habit of smoking in the first place, are being given exposure when it comes to anti-smoking campaigns.

What is more disturbing is that Syed Hamid is actually praising these tobacco companies, saying that he was glad they were helping the government to curb smoking among the youth.

If at all these tobacco companies are concerned with preventing youths from smoking, they should be giving up their operations altogether, including all advertisements and promotions. It is obscene that on one hand they are taking part in anti-smoking campaigns, while on the other hand, they continue to promote and sell tobacco products.

The situation can be considered akin to asking a practicing pimp to go around campaigning to youngsters about the importance of living a chaste life and the adverse effects of prostitution.

The choice to take up smoking should not be brushed off lightly by portraying it as a personal, informed choice made by the adult smoker. If that were the case, we should also be doing the same for drugs such as heroin, Ecstasy and the like, leaving adults free to choose whether they want to take up using these harmful substances.

In fact, the smoking habit is likely to be more attractive to youth if it is defined as an 'adult choice'. Teenagers will want to do what they regard as normal for adults. As such, it is regrettable that our minister condones the tactics of these big tobacco companies.

The death and disease rate of smokers is extremely high and cannot be ignored. Smoking also poses no less a risk to non-smokers exposed to toxic cigarette fumes.

I call on the government to ban tobacco companies from being involved in anti-smoking campaigns. Instead, pressure should be put on these companies to halt all forms of advertising, promotions and misleading messages.

The promotion of cigarette brand names of cigarettes should not be allowed anywhere, be it on clothing, accessories, ashtrays, card holders or holiday package promotions. The sale of items in the form of cigarettes or cigarette packets should not be allowed.

Also, the move to have graphic warning labels that cover at least 50 percent of cigarette packages should be made compulsory immediately. The Singapore government is already doing this. These warnings include images of cancerous lungs, and bleeding brains following strokes.

Names such as 'Light' and 'Mild' should not be permitted on cigarette packets as this can give the impression that there is a safety factor involved, and encourage usage.

The government should also prohibit tobacco cultivation once and for all. Tobacco use must be attacked at its source. It is ridiculous to see the Health Ministry fighting against tobacco while other ministries in the government encourage tobacco planting and applaud when profits gained from tobacco are on the rise.

The government should be working as a whole to show their united stand against tobacco abuse.

The current prices of cigarettes should be raised much, much more to serve as a sufficient deterrent to the majority of the population. At the moment, the cost of cigarettes is still very much within the means of most people, more so, our youth. The purchase of cigarettes has also been facilitated by the creation of 'mini-packs'.

Smoking in all public buildings should be prohibited, and enforcement of this ban should be stringent. The law prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to minors should also be strictly enforced. Deterrent jail sentences and fines must be meted out swiftly.

In addition, movies and dramas that depict the smoking habit should not be aired. Local dramas especially must be checked.

Co-curriculum activities in schools should include messages on the dangers of smoking. The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) runs programmes in schools constantly highlighting the fact that there are more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke - chemicals which are either carcinogenic, toxic or serve as irritants.

We also have exercises where children are encouraged to come up with their own anti-smoking posters and slogans. All these serve to imprint on young minds the importance of avoiding the smoking habit.

All of these should be instituted, rather than allowing tobacco companies to conduct what can be viewed as meaningless 'public relations activities' making use of youth anti-smoking campaigns as a stage.

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