Formula One Spared from Malaysia Tobacco Ban

Malaysia will ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship from next January but money-spinning Formula One Grand Prix and soccer events will enjoy temporary reprieve from the ruling, the government said.

The ban is aimed at putting a brake on a sharp increase in the number of smokers, especially among youngsters, Health Minister Chua Jui Meng was quoted as saying by the national Bernama news agency late on Tuesday.

"The Cabinet meeting held last week decided to ban all forms of promotions on cigarette brand names in Malaysia effective January 1 next year," Chua was quoted as saying.

He said the three cigarette makers in the country - British American Tobacco (BAT), JT International and Philip Morris - had agreed to drop all forms of promotion and product advertisements by the end of this year.

The minister said the annual Malaysian leg of the F1 Championship and popular soccer events would be exempted from the ban temporarily, pending further discussions. He said the government would draw up wide-ranging amendments to existing tobacco control laws to curb smoking.

Government surveys showed the number of smokers in this nation of 23 million people grew by almost one million in 10 years since 1986.

"At present, more than half of the adult men and over 3.5 out of 10 adult women in Malaysia are smokers," he said adding that the habit had spread fast among youngsters.

The rise in the number of smokers is also due to the increase in the amount spent on tobacco promotion, he said.

"In the first five months of this year, the tobacco companies spent 47 million ringgit for their indirect promotions and this is expected to reach 100 million by end of this year."

The ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship was in line with international efforts by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which has put forward a draft treaty providing for the gradual worldwide elimination of such campaigns, Chua said.