KL bans youths from smoking

KL bans youths from smoking

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's government is to pass new laws in March to ban young people under the age of 18 from smoking introducing fines of up to $400, newspapers reported here yesterday.

The existing 1993 laws will be amended to prohibit those aged below 18 from "smoking, chewing tobaccos and possessing cigarettes," Health Minister Chua Jui Meng said.

"Those who start smoking at a young age are more likely to become addicted to dadah (drug) when they are older," Chua was reported saying in the New Straits Times daily.

Those caught flouting the crackdown would be fined 1,000 ringgit ($400), he warned. A ministry study has revealed that about 1.7 million people, or 21.5 percent of the population over the age of 15, smoke.