Department of Health issues 284 notices to individuals for smoking offenses

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 284 notices involving compound notices worth RM71,000 have been issued by the Ministry of Health to customers and property owners for various smoking offences.

Director of the Disease Control Division of the Ministry of Health, Datuk, Dr Norhayati Rusli, said 263 food and cigarette outlets in Chow Kit and Kampung Baru were inspected on Saturday June 25 at the following an integrated operation.

“We issued compound notices to 284 customers for smoking-related offenses under the Tobacco Products Control Regulations 2004.

“A total of 14 compound notices were also issued against property owners for failing to display no-smoking signs, while another 28 notices were also issued for other offences,” it said. she said at a press conference Saturday night.

She said the operation was carried out jointly by the Ministry of Health, the Customs Department, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, the police and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

“The Department seized 147 packets of cigarettes for offenses under Section 5 of the Trade Descriptions Act 2011.

“The Customs Department seized 20 cartons and 156 packets of cigarettes for storage and possession of invalid cigarettes,” she added.

Dr Norhayati said the ministry was pleased with the operation as it showed excellent cooperation between the ministries and agencies involved.

“We will continue these operations in the future to combat smoking offences.

“We are committed to ensuring that smoking among Malaysians receives serious attention. The transition to endemicity is an important phase and awareness needs to be raised that smoking can lead to serious complications for those infected with Covid. -19,” she said.