Smokers also have rights: Umno man
Published on: Thursday, January 31, 2019
TENOM: The smoking ban introduced by the government is good for public’s health but is contrary to the Federal Constitution said Tenom Umno Youth chief Bobby Balang (pic).
This is because smoking is not a criminal activity nor banned in this country and legal in terms of constitutional guarantees, he said.
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Therefore, in the interest of the smokers, instructions for smoking should be reviewed and modified to a suitable order and not side towards the parties who like to smoke, he said.
“Over the past few weeks smokers has been publicly complaining ... because they (smokers) have the same rights as others during the time they are at the food premises.
“Even though the government’s reason for banning smoking is good, there are smokers and there are also a handful of food and coffee shop operators who do not agree with the ban,” he said.
Nevertheless, Bobby said the government should look into the more technical, people-friendly and non-biased towards smokers methods in the country, as fines to punish smokers is not a wise solution.
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As a preliminary measure, the government should implement this non-smoking regulation in stages, where the government may recommend smoking zones or smoking areas in each premises while enforcing the enforcement on cigarette sales in the country, he said.
Smoking activity is not a new thing and if it is said smoking is harmful to health despite there being some rationality to it, but death rates due to smoking are still low in comparison with deaths associated with chronic diseases such as Tuberculosis (T. B), Denggi, Hepatitis B, Leukaemia, hypertension and diabetes.
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