Malaysian restaurants are completely non-smoking from New Year's Day both inside and outside
At noon on the first day of the new year, at a dining table outside a tea room in Kuala Lumpur, a diners who were dining took out a cigarette, but quickly put it back. According to Malaysia’s decision to expand the no-smoking area effective that day, even smoking within 3 meters of a restaurant will violate the law.
Malaysian restaurants are the main targets for the expansion of the no-smoking area. From that day onwards, not only did air-conditioned restaurants continue to be non-smoking, but also non-air-conditioned restaurants and simple roadside dining stalls inside and outside are also designated as non-smoking areas, including hookahs, electronic cigarettes, etc. are also prohibited. Malaysia has previously listed government agencies, parks, stadiums and other public facilities, airports, bus stations, and educational institutions as non-smoking areas.
According to the "Tobacco Products Control Regulations" enacted in 2004, smokers in no-smoking areas can be fined up to 10,000 ringgits (approximately US$2,400) or imprisoned for two years. The Ministry of Health of Malaysia stated that after the expansion of the no-smoking area, smokers will be given a 6-month "adaptation period".
The head of the Malaysian Ministry of Health pointed out that this measure is to protect the health of the people, especially non-smokers. According to data previously disclosed by the Ministry of Health, the Malaysian government needs to spend about 7 billion ringgits (about 1.48 billion US dollars) every year to treat smoking-related diseases. The Malaysian government hopes to build Kuala Lumpur into a zero-smoking city by 2045.
According to the reporter's observation on the streets of Kuala Lumpur that day, although scattered people still smoke in some outdoor cafes, it is indeed difficult to see "clouds and fog" in most restaurants. Many people welcomed the smoking ban, and some smokers expressed the hope that they could quit smoking.
However, the smoking ban has also aroused opposition from some smokers. On December 31 last year, seven Malaysians took the Ministry of Health of Malaysia to court, hoping to revoke the smoking ban.
According to the "Tobacco Products Control Regulations", once restaurant owners fail to ensure that customers do not smoke or fail to post obvious no-smoking notices, they will also be fined or even imprisoned. An owner surnamed Hong confessed to reporters that if there are customers smoking, especially standing in front of the store, the owner will not be inconvenient to intervene forcibly.
A number of industry organizations have appealed to the Malaysian government. Although the industry agrees with the goal of smoking ban, they hope that the government will implement it strongly and not push the “execution task” to the industry. At the same time, they hope that the Ministry of Health or local governments can provide free standard smoking ban signs to the government. Industry.