Where smoking is involved, Malaysia is unable to 'walk its talk'.

Efforts to eradicate the smoking culture among Malaysians have had little impact to date - one in four has taken up smoking and of the six million smokers, 20 percent are between the ages of 12 and 18.

These figures, released recently by Public Health Specialists Association of Malaysia president Professor Dr Syed Mohamed Aljunid - if read between the lines - could lead to two alarming conclusions.

Firstly, a large number of Malaysians are addicted to nicotine and secondly, the government has not performed as expected in tackling the problem of cigarette smoking.

One example of this is the delay in implementing measures outlined under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which Malaysia signed last year.