GEORGE TOWN: It is estimated that about 20,00 people in this country die each year from diseases linked to the smoking habit while the number of smokers is believed to be increasing.
Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) vice-chairman, Mohideen Abdul Kader said tobacco continued to be the world’s main cause for such deaths.
“If Malaysians smoke a 20-cigarette pack a day each, this will come to 4.6 million sticks per day. Imagine the impact on the family and national economy,” he said at a press conference in conjunction with the commemoration of World No Tobacco Day, here, today.
Mohideen said on the average, each smoker spent about RM178.8 on cigarettes per month, which had a big impact on the household expenditure.
He said the use of electronic cigarettes to replace the tobacco-filled cigarettes should also be stopped, and the government needed to be firm against the use of vapes by banning it altogether before the vaping habit became more worrying.
“Although there is the contention that e-cigarettes could help smokers kick the smoking habit, it also encourages people to smoke using this device, believing that vaping is less dangerous. -- BERNAMA