Malaysia’s divisive smoking debate a sign of what’s to come for Singapore, New Zealand and other countries mulling age-based bans
- Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin has sparked controversy with his proposal to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2005
- Backers say the sin tax brought in by tobacco products is outweighed by billions of ringgit in health care costs but for smokers and Big Tobacco, old habits die hard
Retired banker Tengku Zul took up smoking while spending time with his grandparents in rural Kelantan state, where it was common for people to smoke tobacco rolled in dried palm leaves.
Having grown up around smokers, he found it easy to say “yes” when he was handed his first stick – a menthol cigarette from a brand that no longer exists – by a friend at age 13.
Tengku Zul, now 60, said his habit quickly picked up pace and soon he was smoking up to three packs every two days.
At age 39, he underwent angioplasty to widen his smoke-damaged arteries. His family sold their car and had to rely on the generosity of relatives to fund the operation.
“I used to joke that the only way to stop smoking is to get lung cancer,” he said. That was before his father-in-law – himself a longtime smoker – died from the disease.
