ALOR GAJAH, July 29 (Bernama) — A smoke-free community can be established with support from all parties, said Ayer Limau State Assemblyman Hameed Myhtheen Kunju Basheer.

He was referring to Kampung Sungai Jerneh, Taman Berembang and Paya Lebar Homestays in the  Ayer Limau state constituency in Melaka which are actively implementing the Smoke-Free Community (KBAR) programme since its  introduction in 2012.

They are all in the rural areas, thus showing that the village community has a high level of awareness in creating a generational end game (GEG) to smoking, he said.

He said the KBAR programme involved the participation of 30 houses in Kampung Sungai Jerneh, 55 houses in Taman Berembang and 12 homestays in Paya Lebar.

 “This (KBAR) programme is a joint venture between the Ministry of Health, the Melaka government and the community to promote a smoke-free home atmosphere, initially known as a Smoke-Free House and now known as Malaysia Home without Smoking Environment or MyHOUSE,” he told Bernama here.

Hameed Myhtheen said KBAR is an extension of the Smoke-Free Melaka (MBAR) programme implemented under the Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention 1 Malaysia (NCDP-1M) Community Setting to protect the rights of the majority of non-smokers from the threat of cigarette smoke, encourage non-smoking and develop cigarette sales-related activities.

Apart from that, he said KBAR also aims to establish prohibited smoking areas and to promote non-smoking practices during celebrations, official events in a community as well as encourage smokers to stop smoking by holding health and smoking addiction screenings.

He said in a community, there are common places for the people to gather to carry out social activities, such as the surau, mosque, community hall, schools, stalls and eateries, grocery stores and members of the community play a role in ensuring that their community is smoke-free.

“For example, when there is a gathering such as a wedding, the committee member in charge of KBAR will ask the host to put up a sign stating that the event is smoke-free, and visitors who attend must comply with the regulation by ensuring that those who smoke, only smoke outside the area,” he said.

During the early stages of the implementation of the MBAR,  which was gazetted by the state government in 2011, he said, some thought that the programme would adversely affect the state’s tourism, but the opposite happened with the arrival of more visitors, especially those with families.

“There are visitors who prefer to come to Melaka when the smoking-free zones are established, like at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) in Ayer Keroh, the Jasin and Alor Gajah City Council areas, the heritage towns in Banda Hilir and Melaka Raya.

“There are also two exclusive no-smoking zones, at  Jalan Kota and Jonker Walk, where visitors are not allowed to smoke even on the street,” he added.

Meanwhile,  Melaka Health Department Principal Assistant Director Dr Norma Sabtu said the criteria for  KBAR included establishing a Smoke-Free Work Committee consisting of volunteers known as the Smoke Free Cadre, to not accept donations, sponsorship or influence from  tobacco industry and to have a written policy on the matter, and to display it visibly.

Norma, who is also the Head of the Non-Communicable Disease Control Unit (NCD), said other criteria included putting up smoking ban signs and not providing facilities for smoking such as ashtrays, trash cans with ashtrays,  smoking rooms and corners in premises that are designated as Prohibited Smoking Zones.

 “Among the benefits of KBAR is creating a clean and healthy environment, with children brought up in a healthier environment, improving the health of the population by adopting a healthy lifestyle and giving exposure to smokers that their practice is not accepted by the majority, thus encouraging them to quit smoking,” he said.

Sungai Jerneh Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) chairman Jaafar Atan, 59, said one of the things that he took pride in after joining KBAR was when there were no more  retail shops selling cigarettes in the village.

According to him, his late father was the only retail shop owner in the village when he opened the business in the 1990s.

“When my father fell ill, I continued the retail business making a profit of up to RM1,500 a month, including from the sale of cigarettes.

“However, after joining KBAR, I gradually reduced the supply of cigarettes in the shop until at one point I stopped selling them,” said Jaafar, who is a non-smoker.

Yesterday, the Tobacco Products and Smoking Control Bill 2022 which, among others, prohibits  individuals born in 2007 onwards, from smoking, buying or possessing tobacco products or smoking devices was tabled for the first reading in the Dewan Rakyat.

According to the bill, individuals concerned who smoke tobacco products or tobacco substitute products, use smoking devices or possess tobacco products, smoking materials, tobacco substitute products or smoking devices can be fined not more than RM5,000, if convicted.

Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Semin Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) president Hashim Hamad said the community and parents play an important role in the effort to create GEG.

“Therefore, the community needs to take action by reprimanding children who smoke, and parents also need to be open-minded if their children are reprimanded for doing so,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency