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Smoking ban: Who's going to enforce it?

Oct 11, 2018

Image source: FMT

Restaurant operators have mixed reactions to the government's planned smoking ban. 

The Health Ministry says that starting next year, smoking will be banned at all eateries, including open air restaurants and road-side stalls.

Coffee shop operators have voiced out against the ban, saying it would cause businesses to lose up to 30 per cent in profits.

The Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association says instead, the government should allow owners to decide on whether to declare their eateries as smoking or non-smoking zones. 

Conversely, the Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association is all for the ban! 

However, its President Ayoob Khan Muhamad Yakub has urged the government to think about how this ban will be implemented.

"We've got nothing against the ban, but how will it be enforced on consumers?", he asked.

He also feels the move will not affect business that much.

"We sell food, and we sell cigarettes, but we'll just have to see how the people respond to this ban at the end of the day," he added.

The Ministry says its issuing the ban, because non-smokers are entitled to enjoy their food without being exposed to secondhand smoke.