NOT surprisingly, tobacco companies are leading the call to bring back smaller packs of cigarettes.
The move, they say, is to counter the huge numbers of illicit cigarettes in the market. At a nationwide average illicit cigarette penetration of 60 per cent, the availability of cheap alternatives to the price-controlled legal cigarettes has led to a massive loss not only to the companies, but also for the government, from excise duties not paid.
The companies are supported by non-governmental organisations looking after the interests of parties who sell cigarettes, or at least those who sell legal cigarettes, as these people, too, are facing losses due to the easy availability of illicit cigarettes.
Health experts, including those from the Health Ministry, and tobacco control proponents are up in arms against such a proposal, saying that the smaller packs are nicknamed “kiddie packs” for a reason — that they are designed to get younger people hooked on smoking.
They say the country should not regress after making the decision years ago to ban packs which contain fewer than 20 sticks, and advocate raising excise duties on tobacco to cut the consumption of cigarettes and bring about a healthier lifestyle.
Besides Malaysia, six other Asean countries have banned kiddie packs. The others are Brunei, Cambodia, Singapore, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
And, to bring an end to the illicit cigarette trade, they urge more enforcement by the authorities, a move tobacco companies agree with.
For each argument one side brings up, the other side retorts with a counter-argument. For each study proponents of small packs cite, opponents have a counter-study.
So, for each aye for smaller packs, there is a nay.
It is understood that a proposal had been brought before the
government to reintroduce smaller packs of cigarettes, whether
in packs of seven, 10 or 14 sticks.
While some government agencies say there is some merit to the proposal, swayed perhaps by the possibility of increased collection of excise duties, others are
not convinced, according to sources.
Chief among those against any proposal to reintroduce small packs is the Health Ministry, particularly its minister, Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.
For now, the ministry seems to have won but the debate goes on.