Smoking will soon be banned at all eateries nationwide, including mamak stalls, kopi tiam and food courts, The Star reported today.
Citing a post on the Health Ministry website, the report said all public and national parks, including theme parks, would also be gazetted as non-smoking zones.
Currently no smoking is allowed in air-conditioned restaurants, shopping centres and sheltered walkways, as well as in and around rest-stops along the highways.
The Star report said coffeshop associations were protesting against the ban and wanted it to be implemented gradually over a two-year period.
They also want affected premises to be allowed to have a smoking area in the back or elsewhere.
The Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association asked that 40% of space at eateries without air-conditioning be set aside for smokers instead of a total ban, The Star report said.
“Smokers have rights too,” he added.
The association also called for smaller shops – those with 10 tables or fewer – to be exempted.
Restaurant owners also claimed that business would suffere if the ban was implemented, the report said.
They urged the authorities to allow owners to choose whether or not theirs would be smoking or non-smoking eateries.
Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association president T. Muthusamy told The Star that if the ban came into effect, business would be affected.
“People can already choose whether or not they want to have their meals at smoking or non-smoking eateries.”
Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association president Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed said that there should not be a blanket ban.
The Health Ministry said on its website that the ban would be in line with provisions set under the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, to which Malaysia is a signatory.
An estimated 100,000 Malaysians die every year from smoke-related illnesses, according to ministry statistics released earlier.
The public can give their feedback until May 18 on the Health Ministry's website.
Offenders who smoked at no-smoking zones can be fined between RM250 and RM500.
- TMI
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