Letters

Nicotine addiction a hard habit to break

LETTERS: The 2022 Budget allocation of RM332.1 billion was tabled in the hope that the economy would rise 5.5 to 6.5 per cent.

The part of the budget that interested me the most was that the government planned to impose an excise duty on e-cigarette products, including liquid or gel products that contain nicotine, despite the fact that they have been banned by countries such as Italy, Singapore and India.

The plan is to cut the consumption of these products to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and lung injury.

Thus, there will be a drop in government expenditure on treating people who suffer from those diseases.

This is a commendable effort by the government as it can reduce people's consumption of these products, although only slightly.

This is because e-cigarettes contain nicotine, and thus it is difficult for those who are addicted to quit consuming it.

The demand for these products is deemed to be inelastic in economics, and it is similar to the demand for cigarettes.

This means that despite substantial price increases, the demand for it drops only slightly.

At the end of the day, raising taxes on these products benefits the government as it can rake in more revenue.

Some smokers believe e-cigarettes are less hazardous than cigarettes and so they have switched to e-cigarettes. That's why we see more teens vaping.

Studies have shown that there is no significant difference between the deleterious effects of e-cigarettes and cigarettes on health.

So why should they squander their money on something that is harmful to them.

DR MOHD SHAHIDAN SHAARI

Senior lecturer, Faculty of Applied and Human Sciences,

Universiti Malaysia Perlis


The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times

Most Popular
Related Article
Says Stories