list of contributors - GALA

MALAYSIA
Patrick Mirandah
patrick mirandah co. sdn bhd.
pmirandah@mirandah.com
www.mirandah.com
1. Title MALAYSIA URGED TO RATIFY TOBACCO TREATY
Topic: Tobacco advertising
Where: Malaysia
When: 1 st March 2005
What Happened: The Malaysian Government has been urged to ratify the Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC which is the international
tobacco treaty was negotiated under the auspices of the World Health
Organization (WHO).
The call for this ratification is due to the alarming rise in smokers especially
among children aged between 12 and 18 years as well as young women aged
between 18 and 25 years. Statistics have also shown that some 10,000 people
in Malaysia account for the deaths that are directly or indirectly linked to
smoking.
In increasing the awareness of the dangers of smoking especially among
youngsters in Malaysia, The Government here has implemented campaigns
on the dangers of smoking by targeting the young people who have been
steadily contributing to the alarming statistics of young smokers in this part
of the region.
Even with the increase in tariffs on tobacco products by the Malaysian
Government over the past few years, it has not deterred nor has this altered
the smoking culture that is evidently prevalent amongst the Malaysian
youth, male and female alike.
Amongst some of the implementations by the Malaysian Government in
responding to the statistics is the implementation of the ban on the sale of
cigarettes to children under the age of 18 years as well as campaigns in
schools through the media.
Comments With the increased awareness of the dangers of smoking especially amongst
the younger generation, it is hoped that the statistics will see a drastic drop in
the number of young smokers. However, even though tobacco advertising is
not as aggressive as it used to be due to the recent policy changes that have
been implemented by the Malaysian Government in relation to direct
advertising in the various forms of media, tobacco companies are not
showing any visible signs of slowing down and are still raking in the profits
from the sale of cigarettes to consumers.
There is still a great deal of work that remains to be carried out if the
Government is serious in addressing the ill effects of smoking especially
amongst the younger generation. So long as indirect advertising remains a
viable tool for tobacco companies, it then remains to be seen if the Malaysian
Government’s objective in reducing the number of young smokers whilst
promoting a healthy lifestyle among its people can be achieved.