As the World Health Organization (WHO) calls on countries to step up tobacco control efforts, Malaysia presents a survey on smoking and vaping among adolescents in the country. According to this report, it is necessary to redouble efforts to eradicate smoking.
ALL GOVERNMENTAL BODIES MUST GET INVOLVED FOR THE SAME GOAL
The 2016 Malaysian Adolescent Smoking and Vaping Survey (TECMA), released on February 21 by the Institute of Public Health (IKU), shows that it is still urgent and necessary for all government agencies to work together to to become more involved in the subject of smoking and vaping among young people.
For this, the government should already ensure that all government premises are smoke-free. There is no reason for an official to consume tobacco during their working hours when regulations have prohibited it since 2004.
As recommended by the TECMA report: " It is imperative that the “smoke-free” discourse towards young Malaysians be continued and strengthened. School, community and national programs need to reinforce the message that smoking is harmful, it is important for young Malaysians to understand that they need to avoid starting to smoke. »
But simple rhetoric will not be enough to achieve the desired goals if certain policies and practices continue to allow unregulated practices. These include the sale of tobacco products near schools, the consumption of tobacco in public, visible promotion of tobacco products in shops.
We need to understand that to prevent children from smoking, we need to denormalize smoking. For this, it should not be possible to smoke in front of children because all smokers must be responsible and must respect this need to protect children.
This applies not only to consumption, but also to passive smoking. Displaying smoking influences children and can lead them to develop bad habits. The National Kenaf and Tobacco Commission is in the process of consulting to implement new regulations regarding the 2011 licensing of tobacco and tobacco products.
To obtain a license, the business concerned must not be near educational establishments, no non-smoking areas should be allowed to sell tobacco products. The end of smoking in Malaysia can only be achieved by reducing the new clientele of the tobacco industry by protecting children against this scourge.
Source : Thestar.com.my/
