While adults are doing all they can to kick the habit (#TakNak!), some of KL’s kids are finding it easy to get into smoking, with the proliferation of cheap smuggled cigarettes making their way into the Klang Valley.
Harian Metro‘s Amir Abd Hamid reports that several shady shops and newsstands are selling smuggled (read: illegally duty free) cigarettes for as little as RM3.50 or RM4 per pack of 20, well below the Federal Government’s mandated floor price of RM7.
By law, Malaysians aged 18 or below are prohibited from purchasing or smoking cigarettes.
The much lower prices make cigarettes a more enticing prospect for teens and minors, who have been seen in growing numbers partaking in the devil’s weed in public.
Psychologist and youth motivational speaker Dr Tengku Asmadi Tengku Mohamad opines that the situation is exacerbated by youths in the city succumbing to peer pressure.
“Peer pressure is the main factor in youths taking up smoking. If you’re hanging out with smokers, you’re more likely to eventually smoke yourself,” he cautioned.
“Once you’re addicted, you won’t be able to not buy cigarettes. With the large amount of smuggled cigarettes in circulation, the gateway becomes bigger.”
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