From economic prospect, hike in excise duty on tobacco is an effective way to stop smoking (Stapp, 2015). Excise duty is tax that are levied on certain goods such as liquor and cigarettes when they are imported into or manufactured in Malaysia. There are two kind of excise duty, ad valorem and specific. Ad valorem excise taxes are charged as a percentage of the value of tobacco product while specific excise taxes are a fixed amount being taxed on the tobacco product (Investopedia, 2017). The taxes on tobacco in Malaysia is accessed upon their weight until 2004. Malaysia has introduced specific excise tax on tobacco in 2005 which is easier to supervised because it only needs to count by stick. This has corresponded with the canon of simplicity …show more content…
This may be due to the availability substitutes good likes illegal cigarettes. After Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Hilmi Yahaya announced that he is planning to increase the tobacco tax, there are many people stated that most of the smokers may change to illegal cigarettes which are more dangerous and harmful than legal cigarettes (Dr Saunthari Somasundaram, 2017). The hike in excise duty on tobacco leds the price of cigarettes increase of between 23% to 26% for each cigarette pack. This makes the sales volume of legal cigarette dropped and sales volume of illegal cigarette has been driven up. Some of the smokers may change to cheaper illegal cigarettes as the retail price is much different between legal and illegal cigarettes which is RM17 for legal cigarettes pack compared to RM3 for illegal pack (Adeline Paul Raj, 2016). Independent studies conducted that over 50% of illegal cigarettes are consumed in the country. There are about 8 millions of illegal cigarettes were coming to Malaysia each year. A continuous rise in excise tax on tobacco in Malaysia from 2012 to 2014, illustrated a decrease in legal cigarettes consumption, but the illegal cigarettes consumption still at the same level (Tharanya Arumugam, 2017). But most of the people still believed that increased in excise …show more content…
Therefore, government has to find out a faster way to reduce the quantity of people smoking effectively. According to the statistics above, the cost of healthcare projects for 3 smoking-related diseases is expanding from 2004 to 2010 (SEATCA, 2013). Government Malaysia also put other efforts to reduce the quantity of smokers by education, multimedia, campaigns and so on. The first activity that Malaysian government held was anti smoking campaign in 1991. This campaign has been ran for over 10 years to grab the attention and spread the awareness of the hazards of smoking to the general public. Although this campaign was launched, but the smoking rate still rising. Then, the health ministry has launched ‘Tak Nak’ media campaigns towards both smokers and non-smokers from 2004 until 2010. The ‘Tak Nak’ media campaigns has raised the awareness of the effects of smoking and stop people from smoking or starting to smoke through media such as radio, TV (advertising) and outdoor included notice boards and banner. In addition, the regulations of posting gruesome photos on cigarettes packs also set by the governments in 2009 to encourage smokers to quit smoking. The photos showed the consequences of smoking such as lung cancer, badly stained teeth, neck cancer (Tan,
Renneboog, R. M. (2016). Cigarette Smoking Bans: An Overview. Canadian Points Of View: Cigarette Smoking Bans, 1.
in only a few years time we will notice a drastic decline in the total
Smoking cigarettes is a detrimental practice not only to the smoker, but also to everyone around the smoker. According to an article from the American Lung Association, “Health Effects” (n.d.), “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year”. The umbrella term for tobacco use includes the use of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs and chewing tobacco. While tobacco causes adverse health consequences, it also has been a unifying factor for change in public health. While the tobacco industries targets specific populations, public health specifically targets smokers, possible smokers, and the public to influence cessation, policies and education.
Smoking is a lifestyle, a habit, and a trend. Smoking has become a social activity among teens, connecting them through the craving of a smoke. Smoking is seen as seductive and cool in the media and movies which influences teenagers to smoke even more. The World Health Organization has stated that “Tobacco kills around 6 million people each year. More than 5 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while more than 600,000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.” As of April 2016, only 7% of teenagers in the U.S. smoke, but it is said that tobacco use will kill 8 million people annually by 2030. 99% of adult smokers start in their years as teenagers. Smoking is an epidemic that has taken control of people’s lives since 1881 and the media since the early 1900s. Smoking currently kills about 440,000 people a year in the U.S. I feel that it is an issue because it is the #1 most preventable way to die, but people still continue to smoke because of how it looks and how they are perceived as a person if they do. The fact that people become addicted to a trend that will attribute to their death for the sake of being thought of as cooler, is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Cigarette contains different poisonous ingredients, and nicotine is the one that creates addiction and leads to different diseases. Smoking cigarette is one of the worst problems our world is facing and the main reason for this term to be stressful is its consequence. Cigarette can cause different diseases that can directly or indirectly lead to death; “tobacco use is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths in the united states” (cigarette smoking). Most of the time this consequence highly exists on young smokers or victims can be affected by the consequence because they started smoking young. In the United States 18 is the legal age for smoking cigarette and people are still using this law, but it is now the right time for a change because young citizens were affected a lot as a result of early age smoking. Instead of setting the age limit of smoking cigarette 18, we have to raise it to 21 because of the responsibility, Health issue, and since the alcohol drinking and marijuana smoking age Is 21, we have to use the same age limit for smoking cigarette.
Each year 440,000 people die, in the United States alone, from the effects of cigarette smoking (American Cancer Society, 2004). As discussed by Scheraga & Calfee (1996) as early as the 1950’s the U.S. government has utilized several methods to curb the incidence of smoking, from fear advertising to published health warnings. Kao & Tremblay (1988) and Tremblay & Tremblay (1995) agreed that these early interventions by the U.S. government were instrumental in the diminution of the national demand for cigarettes in the United States. In more recent years, state governments have joined in the battle against smoking by introducing antismoking regulations.
Every year, there are over 400,000 smoking-related deaths in the United States. A large percentage of these are due to lung cancer, whose leading cause is smoking. However, not all deaths are smokers themselves. Anyone in the vicinity can fall victim to second hand smoke. These people, through no action of their own, can have their lives threatened.
The Victorian ‘Tobacco Act 1987) was the first broad tobacco legislation and aimed to reduce smoking prevalence. The Act states ‘A person must not sell a tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 years.” (Human Service Western Region Tobacco Project Report) As part of this Government intervention, penalties were introduced with the maximum penalty for breaching the provision being $1000 first offence, $2000 second offence and possible loss of tobacco license for subsequent offences. Tobacco sales make up a large percentage of convenience stores sales (Refer to 5.????) and this Government crackdown on cigarettes which has continued to be prevalent has in some respects increased cigarette sales. The state government has acknowledged and concluded “A Disproportionate number of cigarette sales to minors occurred at milkbars and service station convenience stores compared to supermarkets, newsagents, and tobacconists.)
This year alone cigarettes will kill over 420,000 Americans, and many more will suffer from cancers, and circulatory and respiratory system diseases. These horrible illnesses were known to come from cigarettes for years. Recently the Food and Drug Administration declared nicotine, the main chemical in cigarettes, addictive. This explains why smokers continue to use cigarettes even though smokers are aware of the constantly warned about health dangers in cigarettes. Some researchers have also found out that smoking by pregnant women causes the deaths of over 5,000 babies and 115,000 miscarriages. The only way to get rid of the suffering and loss of life by cigarettes is to ban them. . For years cigarettes have been known to cause cancer, emphysema, and other horrible illnesses. The deaths of over 420,000 of Americans this year will be do to cigarettes. With all the other causes of deaths, alcohol, illegal drugs, AIDS, suicide, transportation accidents, fires, and guns, cigarettes still count for more deaths than those do combined. We can’t stand and watch people die because they smoke cigarettes. Thousands of smokers try to rid themselves of cigarettes but can't because of additive nicotine. Nicotine was recently declared addictive by the Food and Drug Administration, which explains why many smokers continue to smoke despite the health warnings on cigarette smoking. Nicotine makes it almost impossible for cigarette smokers to quit smoking because of its addictive nature, and with the cigarette manufacturers putting just enough nicotine in the so they cant be outlawed. The benefits of outlawing cigarettes greatly outnumber the disadvantages, for example, many scientists believe a link between smoking and a shortened life span exists between the two, a ban on cigarettes could increase life spans. Many studies suggest that billions of dollars now spent on smoking related. Smoking related illnesses could be reduced by outlawing cigarettes, families could save money by not purchasing cigarettes, and accidental fires costing millions of dollars caused by cigarettes would stop. Although a complete ban on cigarettes currently remains almost impossible, several organizations recently helped create a bill that could control cigarettes much in the same way the government now controls drugs. One such organization, the Food and Drug Administration, headed by David Kesslar drafted a major part, which would require manufacturers to disclose the 700 chemical additives in cigarettes, reduce the level of harmful chemicals, require cigarette companies to warn of the addictive nicotine, restrict tobacco advertising and promotion, and control the level of nicotine cigarettes contain.
Warner, KE, Chaloupka, FJ, Cook, PJ, Manning, WG, Newhouse, JP, Novotny, TE, Schelling, TC & Townsend, J “Criteria for Determining an Optimal Cigarette Tax: The Economist’s Perspective” Tobacco Control. 380-386, 1995. Print.
Did you know three cigarettes could get one addicted? Every time one takes a puff of a cigarette
Although it is beneficial for the economy for the production of tobacco products, it is extremely risky to use the product. According to researchers, second-hand smoke is terrible for everyone in the world who walks by someone who is exhaling. In the article by Robert Proctor “Why ban the sale of cigarettes? The case for abolition” states that cigarettes are the “most deadly object in the history of human civilization”.... ...
The sale of cigarettes and tobacco is a multi-billion dollar industry, but is it truly worth all the problems that stem from their use? Health care costs are extremely high due to all the health problems associated with cigarettes and tobacco. Even though research has proven time and time again the harmful effects of cigarettes, and the rising cost of health care caused by cigarettes, our government will not take a stand and stop all manufacturing of the horrible toxins. Every year, new medical reports are issued regarding the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world die every year from diseases caused by smoking.
Smoking is a simple process of inhaling and exhaling the fumes of burning tobacco, but it has deadly consequences. According to the American Cancer Society, smoking is the most preventable cause of death in America today (Encarta, 2002). Until the 1940?s, smoking was considered harmless. It was at this time that epidemiologists noticed a dramatic increase in the cases of lung cancer. A study was then conducted between smokers and nonsmokers to determine if cigarettes were the cause of this increase. This study, conducted by the American Cancer Society, found increased mortality among smokers. Yet it was not until 1964 that the Surgeon General put out a report acknowledging the danger of cigarettes. The first action to curb smoking was the mandate of a warning on cigarette packages by the Federal Trade Commission (Encarta, 2002). In 1971, all cigarette advertising was banned from radio and television, and cities and states passed laws requiring nonsmoking sections in public places and workplaces (Encarta, 2002). Now in some cities smoking is being completely banned from public places and workplaces and various people are striving for more of these laws against smoking.
Consequently, tobacco which contains many harmful chemicals damages human beings’ health day by day. Although people are aware of the bad effects of smoking, they still smoke for one reason or another. When the current situation is considered, it is clear that smoking which has been spreading all over the world is not only the problem of a country or a territory but the problem of mankind because smoking brings many disadvantages for humans like diseases. I personally believe that it is important to help children remain lifelong non-smokers because they are our hope for a non-smoking future.