PETALING JAYA: A total of 43,019 secondary school students out of 1.3 million and 341 primary school pupils out of two million tested positive under Kotak, an early smoking detection and intervention programme designed for schoolchildren nationwide as a strategic partnership between the Health and Education ministries.
Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control (MCTC) secretary-general Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah told theSun that children from homes where smoking is common will usually pick up the habit.
“These children, when encouraged or introduced to smoking by their peers, will usually become habitual smokers.”
He said to prevent schoolchildren from smoking, their homes and all public spaces should be made tobacco-free environments.
He said MCTC is involved in tobacco control advocacy and encourages the implementation of all provisions in the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
“We conduct various tobacco control activities, including smoking cessation services as well as education and public awareness on the dangers of smoking in communities, schools and universities.
“The effective rate for smoking cessation depends on the implementation of a smoke-free environment.
“This enables smokers to stop smoking and prevents children and young people from picking up the habit, which is why all public spaces need to be made smoke-free.”
National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM) managing director Dr Murallitharan Munisamy said preventing smoking among children needs a multi-pronged approach.
“The first step is to have strict legal control where children’s access to cigarettes and vapes should be prohibited.
“The second is community education and awareness that smoking is not normal and should be looked down upon.
“Only then will children be deterred from smoking because it becomes culturally unacceptable and legally prohibited.”
Murallitharan said schoolchildren who smoke are at greater risk of contracting 15 different cancers by the time they reach their 30s and 40s.
“They are also more likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack as they grow older.
“Since they had started smoking from a young age, the cumulative damage hits them earlier and they develop illnesses in their 30s and 40s”
He also said NCSM provides holistic cancer-related services to sufferers, caregivers and the public at six centres.
These are the Cancer and Health Screening Clinic, Nuclear Medicine Centre, Resource and Wellness Centre, Quit Smoking Clinic, Children’s Home of Hope and the Adults’ Home of Hope.
“We have been working with schools to promote anti-smoking activities and have been running the largest school smoking cessation programme for many years.
“We continue to promote new activities for healthy living among young people.”