GEORGE TOWN – Smokers in Penang are taking advantage of the lack of enforcement during the Covid-19 lockdown to light up in no-smoking zones including the Unesco-listed World Heritage Site here, a survey has found.
Releasing the study by the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP), its education officer, N.V. Subbarow, said the group recently assigned officials to conduct checks in no-smoking areas.
To their chagrin, they found many people smoking cigarettes or vaping in restricted areas, in defiance of no-smoking signs.
“And of course, without their masks on,” said Subbarow.
The veteran activist said many smokers feel that Health Department personnel are busy fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides disregarding the ill effects of the habit on their own health, these people also contribute to second-hand smoke being inhaled by others.
Subbarow issued a stark reminder that smoking causes poor health, and could result in loss of life.
CAP also found that many petty traders are selling loose cigarettes, which is against the law.
“The sale of cigarettes is very popular in the George Town World Heritage Site, despite it having been gazetted as a no-smoking zone in 2015,” said Subbarow.
Some traders even admitted that many people, including an increasing number of youth, buy individual sticks from them, he said, adding that the number of buyers has gone up during the movement control order.
CAP urged the Health Department to act against both traders and smokers who flout the law.
“The pandemic has impacted people in many forms, and we need to look after one another to prevent the spread of the virus.” – The Vibes, January 31, 2021
