Over 4,000 caught puffing in smoke-free zones

Star: PETALING JAYA: Smoking in non-smoking zones has burnt a hole in the pockets of more than 4,000 people who paid close to a million ringgit in fines.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said 85% of the 4,329 people caught smoking last year paid fines totalling RM919,535.
“We take smoking in non-smoking zones seriously and will continue to protect the public from (inhaling) second-hand smoke,” he said at KDU College’s No Smoking Awareness Campaign yesterday.
He said the ministry would step up its efforts to get more people to quit smoking.
Offenders faced compound fines up to RM5,000, starting with RM300 for first-timers. Those convicted in court can be fined up to RM10,000 or jailed up to two years or both.
The 20 categories of non-smoking zones include government offices, universities and colleges. The no smoking rule is also enforced in air-conditioned restaurants unless the operators have to applied to the ministry for a smoking corner.
Liow said there appeared to be a decrease of 3.3% in the national smoking prevalence in the Third National Health and Morbidity Survey 2006 compared to 10 years ago.
The 2006 figure showed that there were almost three million smokers in Malaysia, with 2.8 million adults and 200,000 minors aged below 18, he said.
“The reduction was attributed to the numerous efforts made by the Government, especially the Health Ministry.
“However, I am still not satisfied with the achievement,” he said, adding that the Ministry would work hard to achieve a 5% reduction.
From June 1, the Ministry’s enforcement officers would start confiscating cigarette packs or packages that do not carry the pictorial warning.
“We have given them a three-month grace period to withdraw the products without such warnings,” said Liow.