Educative approach to smoking ban at eateries for six months

For the first six months of this year the Health Ministry will take an "educative" approach to enforce its smoking ban at all public eateries.

Its minister Dzulkefly Ahmad today said that punitive actions would only be enforced from the second half of this year.

"I know there are people who are saying 'let's do it (issue fines) now' but at the ministry, we have a standard operating procedure.

"For this campaign, we allow a six-month period to educate the public. After that, no more excuses," Dzulkefly told reporters after a walkabout at several eateries in Bandar Seri Permaisuri in Cheras.

He was accompanied by officers from the Federal Territories Health Department.

In October, the ministry announ­ced that smoking will no longer be allowed in all restaurants, coffeeshops and hawker centres – even open-air eateries –  starting today.

Those caught smoking in prohibited areas could be fined up to RM10,000 or face two years jail.

Eateries found to have allowed customers to light up will be slapped with a maximum fine of RM2,500.

Smokers are, however, permitted to light up three metres away from the establishments.

Roundtable discussions

In the last three months of 2018, Dzulkefly said the ministry had organised 351 roundtable discussions involving various eatery owners to prepare them for the full enforcement of the smoking ban.

He added that more than 5,000 health officers have been trained to use the educative enforcement method, and they will later be authorised to issue fines to individuals caught breaking the law.

Aside from cigarettes, the smoking ban also covers other products that may contain nicotine, including e-cigarettes and shishas.

"It's not rocket science. We can do it very well, to ascertain if there are prohibited contents in vape and shishas," he said when quizzed on the matter.

On a related matter, Dzulkefly said the ministry has no plans to review the amount of tar and nicotine in a cigarette, currently set at 20mg and 1.5mg respectively per stick.

"We will maintain the status quo. There will be no review (of nicotine and tar levels) apart from several other regulations that we want to update," he said.

In January 2013, the BN government had proposed a review of tar and nicotine levels in a cigarette, as part of its attempt to curb smoking among Malaysians.

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