Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil should step in and call for the full implementation of the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004 as gazetted in September last year.

This is because there has been a dramatic rise in smoking among women, particularly among the young. Women are susceptible to cancers linked to smoking - breast, ovarian and cervical and the National Cancer Registry will show this clearly. Nine out of 10 lung cancer victims are smokers but this form of cancer is most prevalent among men.

The worrying problem now is that Malaysian children will be able to afford 14-pack cigarettes until 2010. Malaysia will probably now be deluged with cheap cigarettes. There is no end to the problem in sight.

If we cannot ensure the future of our children, we should at least not take what little is left for them. We will be guilty of abetting the tobacco industry in reaching out to our family and community, enticing them with a product that kills them slowly.

If we can't get smokers to quit, we should try and help prevent those who have not started from picking up the habit.