Y
Yoshitsune Minamoto
Guest
No more small pack cigarette from Jan 1 next year
KUALA LUMPUR: The ban on sale of cigarette packs having less than 20 sticks per pack will take effect on Jan 1 next year. Deputy director-general of Health (Public Health) Datuk Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman said the provision for the ban had been gazetted on Sept 23, 2004 through the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004. “It is hoped with this notification, it gives tobacco manufacturers sufficient time to make the needed changes,” he said in a statement here Saturday.
Dr Hasan said, as practised in many advanced countries, the prohibition was aimed at restricting access to cigarettes particularly among adolescents and those in the lower income group. It was recently reported that the Government had deferred the ban on 14-stick cigarette packets which was scheduled to take effect from next Tuesday. The date was chosen to coincide with the World No Tobacco Day which falls on Monday.
