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KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Health is looking for the revenue from the cigarette tax to help people quit smoking, says Datuk Seri Dr. Adham Baba.
“We are in discussions with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that, in addition to the non-governmental organizations that help us with advice, the revenue from the cigarette tax is also used to defray the cost of treating those seeking to quit smoking.” said the Minister of Health. .
Dr. Adham said this while answering a question posed by Datuk Seri Dr. Mujahid Yusof Rawa (PH-Parit Buntar) at the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (November 30).
He said the proposal comes in response to a recent announcement by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz that the excise tax on cigarettes sold in the tax-free islands would be on par with other taxes on cigarettes.
Dr. Adham noted that there are currently about 4.8 million smokers in the country, or 21% of the total population.
“Of this, about 48% or 2.3 million smokers want to quit, but only 22,000 have done so successfully under the MQuit program,” he said.
Dr. Adham said that approximately RM2 thousand was spent in 2018 and RM2.8 thousand last year to help treat smokers who signed up for the program to help kick their habit.
He added that the number of those treated fell last year to 9,222 due to an increase in the cost of treatment.
Dr Adham said the MQuit program was launched in 2015 and will enter its third phase spanning from 2021 to 2025, adding that 22,601 smokers had signed up under the program last year compared to 10,240 in 2017.
On those seeking to quit smoking during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Adhad said 3,442 smokers had visited the Health Ministry website between January 1 and October 21 of this year compared to just 1,678 throughout the past year.
“Of the 3,442 visits, 3,254 or 95% had signed up for help,” he added.
Under the 2021 Budget, the government will manufacture cigarettes and tobacco products as taxable goods on all duty-free islands such as Labuan, Langkawi, Tioman and Pangkor, and in any free zones that have been allowed to retail for duty free cigarettes.
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