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.