KOTA KINABALU: More than 700 personnel members from the Health Department will be involved in a six-month statewide awareness campaign to educate the people on new laws over smoking products.
Spearheaded by the Sabah Health Department, the operation will be supported by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, Customs Department, local authorities and the police.
State health director Datuk Dr Asits Sanna said the focus of the campaign called Ops Mega Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852) was to educate and remind business owners over displaying communication material to indicate smoking of cigarettes and ecigarettes was prohibited at their premises.
“The operation is in the form of educational enforcement so that the target groups comply with Act 852,” he told reporters during the exercise at the busy Gaya Street here on Tuesday (Oct 15).
“There will be 780 personnel members from the Health Department involved in the operation over the course of the campaign,” he added.
Among the actions to be taken, he said, would be advising eateries to put up no smoking signs, adding they will also visit premises that sold ecigarettes or vape shops.
After the completion of the campaign, Dr Asits added, the Health Ministry will enforce Act 852 including on ban of the sale of toy-like smoking products that could attract the younger generation to smoke.
He said tobacco products must also be kept in enclosed cabinets by April next year while the enforcement over the packaging and labelling standards will come into effect next October.
On Tuesday, the team visited 250 premises at Gaya Street.
During the launch of the operation at the federal administrative complex in Likas earlier, Dr Asits said the government aimed to build a healthy and smoke-free nation and that early intervention was key to this effort so that young people do not develop smoking habits.
Due to technological advancements, however, he said, the reach of enforcement was limited because of the existing rules.
He said a host of studies had shown that the use of e-cigarettes was increasing year by year.
“It is for this, Act 852 was drawn up and gazetted in February and enforced starting Oct 1,” he said.
