Building a smoke free generation

Necessary Act: In Malaysia, more than 27,200 people die every year from smoking-related causes. The proposed legislation can prevent these types of cases in the future. – NORAFIFI EHSAN/The Star.

MALAYSIA is taking serious steps to combat smoking, with Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin moving ahead with his long-term plan to make Malaysia a tobacco-free nation by 2040, when the smoking prevalence is targeted to be less than 5%.

The Health Ministry is currently preparing a new Tobacco and Smoking Control Act, which includes the much-talked about “generational endgame”.