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Govt aims to reduce the number of Malaysian smokers by 15%

Sep 23, 2016

The Health Ministry aims to reduce the number of Msian smokers by 15 percent by the year 2025, compared to 4.7 million currently.

It says, on average Msia spends nearly 3 billion ringgit a year to treat smoking-related illnesses including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, and lung cancer.

Some 20 thousand Malaysians die each year due to smoking, and if smoking patterns don't change, the death toll will rise to 30 thousand a year by 2020.