Malaysians doubt the effectiveness of banning the sale of tobacco and e-cigarette products to people born after 2005, according to a survey conducted by the Retail Trade Brand Advocacy (RTBA) Malaysia branch and conveyed by the New Straits Times on February 14, foreign media reported.
In January, Malaysia's health minister, KhairyJamaluddin, said he smoked. New Zealand announced a similar policy in December.
Eighty-five percent of respondents to RTBBA said the ban would be ineffective and would create a black market for cigarettes and e-cigarette products. They also say the ban would be difficult to enforce and ultimately affect Malaysian laws and local businesses.
A ban is not a solution, said Fazlindin, managing director of RTBA Malaysia. For example, e-cigarette products containing nicotine are banned from the market. However, consumers still need nicotine-containing e-cigarette products. Worst of all is the black market for tobacco. Malaysia has the highest level of illegal cigarettes in the world due to the huge price gap between the law and illegal products.
Nearly 1,200 Malaysians took part in the survey by RTBA Malaysia, an NGO that protects businesses from crime.
Fazli said that while Malaysia's plans were inspired by New Zealand, the difference was that New Zealand did not plan to ban e-cigarette products.
Instead, it promotes e-cigarettes as a less harmful alternative and encourages New Zealanders to switch from traditional cigarettes, he said.
A recent study showed that encouraging smokers to switch to e-cigarettes as a less harmful alternative would help reduce the smoking population in Malaysia to 4 million by 2025.
The report estimates that this strategy will help the country reduce the cost of treating smoking-related diseases by 1.3 billion ringgit ($310.21 million) in 2025.