The government’s blanket move to ban smoking at eateries, coffee shops and restaurants, which came into effect at the start of the year, cannot be argued as anything but a good move from a health viewpoint, especially for non-smokers.
Strict enforcement hasn’t begun, but when it does kick in six months from now on July 1, those caught smoking (vaping and shisha included) in prohibited areas will be fined up to RM10,000 or face two years’ jail, while eateries will be penalised with a maximum fine of RM2,500 if they are found to contravene the ruling.
The push has been concerted, and as such, the topic has been getting a lot of attention and causing quite a debate. As expected, there has been resistance from smokers, which at the extreme end is calling the restriction unconstitutional, which is rather nutty.
As a smoker, I’m all for the move, but quite frankly don’t see the retention rates dropping and people giving up as a result of the new rules, rather it being a case of smokers shifting their operating sphere – what you will see of is an increase of the number of people randomly standing or huddling in an area anywhere three metres away from outdoor seating places like a mamak stall to puff away.
Nonetheless, fine move, because the idea behind taking it beyond enclosed spaces is that close proximities, even outdoors, still doesn’t remove the threat of second-hand smoke to a static, non-smoking crowd. As the health minister puts it, it’s to safeguard the health of Malaysians such as young children and the elderly, who cannot defend themselves against passive smoke from cigarettes in public places.
You can’t argue with that, but if you’re going to do one thing, then you should also be looking at other things beyond tobacco pollution in enclosed spaces and near outdoor eateries, because if the argument is that if you’re going to safeguard public health by declaring second-hand smoke as harmful, then you should also do so with static vehicle emissions, arguably more so because of the volumetric scope.
It’s a regular thing, really, parking by the roadside near an eatery with outdoor seating and letting the engine idle away, the culprits being the takeaway crowd (or those insisting that they need to find a parking lot in front of the makan place). We won’t even delve into those who sit in their car with the engine running inside covered car parks for extended periods, leaving it with the same angle as that taken by the ‘smoking at eateries’ route.
Petaling Jaya folk don’t have to look far – a good example are the roads around Uptown during dinner time, which contain a heady mix of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons permeating the air in locations where there is open air dining taking place, and although most noses seem to be insensitised to it (unless there are diesel culprits, and even then), it’s still all wafting in the air people breathe.
It would be a bit too much of a hope to ask drivers to kill their engines while waiting, given that no one really bothers about burning fuel with pump prices as they are, but here it goes anyway – do your bit for the environment and consider others, more so if you’re parked right in front of diners.
In many countries it is an offence to leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while stationary on a public road other than traffic conditions. Close to home, Singapore enforces this ruling with fines, of which stronger ones were introduced in 2016 in an effort to improve the country’s ambient air quality and, yes, safeguard public health.
So yes, all for it, the smoking ban at eateries, including that covering outdoor seating, but perhaps it may be time to take a harder look at the threat called unnecessary exhaust emissions, specifically at close quarters. After all, any controllable air pollution hazard is a hazard to human health, no matter what form it takes.
Do you think there should be enforcement of unnecessary engine idling, principally next to eateries with outdoor seating? Share your view and thoughts with us in the comments section, but keep it civil.
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How about smokes released by nearby factories? Oh, someone fart? Aren’t you think these should be taken into consideration also?
The public should follow taxi drivers practised to switch off engines while waiting.
In general the govt is introducing 1st world solution to 3rd world problems. Best of governing ideas but majority peons stuck in 3rd mentality, the Malaysian Dream(ing)…
I know plenty of hypocritical people who complains about petrol price rising but then leaves their engine idling for 15 minutes just because “it’s hot and I need aircon”.
Also, obviously the issue being raised pertains to selfish drivers causing exhaust fumes to blow into eateries. If you wanna keep your engine running 3m from eateries nobody gives a crap. PDAM approves.
People who complains about petrol price rising , but spent Rm200 weekly on vaping and 30mins keep their engine running car aircond play fesbuk. Looking for parking spot nearest to shopping mall entrance ,
Smokers can put their straight into the car exhaust… Everyone happy . Problem solved
No need to go so far. Don’t talk about smoking. Look at our petrol quality. We are still using Euro 2M for petrol.
Even our Diesel, 90% of the cars are still using Euro 2M for their vehicles.
This is worse poison. In the whole of Europe, Euro 2M was banned in 1994 becaus eit was proven to be cancer causing and extremely toxic.
This was 25 years ago and yet, Malaysia still using Euro 2M 25 years later.
this is the failing of the previous administration who did not care about our health and air quality
Who was the PM back in 1994?
ban the mat rempit and similar type. They are the ones mainly smoking
Why worry? Just like in Penang, cancerous smoke emission is considered OK.
well, 1) mandatory scrapping of old cars\buses\lorries\vans\motorbikes (5yrs and above) is the answer to the health concern, simple as that. dare to implement? 2) at the same time mandatory use of best euro standard quality fuel. 3) To legally ban the sale and purchase of cigarettes nationwide with hefty penalties against offenders.
Only agree point No: 2.
Point 4: ban all new and old vehicles with idling engines left running more than one minutes outside coffee shops ,residential areas and wet markets including double parking. Put hefty compound on arrogant and selfish drivers immediately to create less pollution . ( Why Pakatan Harapan ministry of transport never see to it only imposed fine for people waiting or standing in the parking lots only?)
What sort of mentality is in the ministry of transport , the head must lead by example not talk and implement useless things)
If Malaysia succeeds in banning smoking 3m from the eateries, then I’m pretty sure that banning of smoking in public places will take place eventually.. in stages. Soon.. only designated smoking place will be allowed for smokers.
As for the idling car.. it’ll take longer time to enforce. Shame to say this but I always do this whenever I am waiting for someone near the eateries
That’s a BIG “If” and so far, I don’t see this happening. Smokers are still smoking whereever they please.
The scenarios mentioned seems to be meant for those eating at designated car parks i.e. not in the restaurant proper premises. Whay blame the car driver? The diner should not be there and in the very first place the table and chairs should be in the designated restaurant premise. If the diner chooses to eat next to the road, then bear the consequences.
This is Bolehland. What can you expect?
are u Proton services’ technician? same script, only change Proton with Bolehland, LMAO
Baby steps, get rid of Euro-2 diesel first and then move to restrict waiting cars. In Europe not so hot or humid, if engine off, aircon off, windows down will kill us faster with the heat and pollution. We are still using Ron 95 fuel which is as pollutant as the cheap diesel.
Clean fuel first. At least euro 5. Cleaner fuel turns into cleaner emission.
Just because pollution is everywhere doesn’t mean it’s ok to add coal into the fire. The key here is progressiveness. One by one, we should together make this world a healthier place to live in rather than complaining about the limitation of smokers and ranting about why ban only cigarettes.
The smoking ban at eateries is a very good move. I too agree that it’s only logical to crack down on prolonged engine idling too.
However, I feel it’s still just wishful thinking, at least for now. Why ? Because unlike Europe and America, Malaysia is a hot and humid tropical country. We need aircond for the sake of productivity and health.
Lee Kuan Yew was once asked this question ” What is the secret to Singapore’s success ? ” And his answer ? ” Air conditioning ” ! ( don’t believe me ? Google it )
For most cars, the aircond compressor runs off the auxiliary belt, and this belt stops moving when your engine is turned off. People who drive cars with auto-stop-start function will know exactly what I mean.
Sitting in a car with the aircond turned off, at 3pm, for just 5-10 mins can be outright fatal for some (elderly or unfit) people. You can wind the windows down, but then you’d create a security risk (for women drivers especially). Alternatively, you can just park and get out of the car, but this might not be an option depending on the scenario.
Ideally, what we need is more cars which have aircond compressors which electrically driven. One such example is the latest Honda Jazz Hybrid. The AC compressor is powered by the hybrid motor’s battery, and not the auxiliary belt. So now even with the engine off, the AC blows cold air.
Anyway, I personally doubt prolonged engine idling can be policed in Malaysia at this time. The better solution for tropical countries like ours is cleaner, greener Euro 5/6 fuels and engines, and the introduction of CO2 emissions-based tax penalties as seen in Singapore and Thailand.
Wow! I newer know Malaysia is such a dangerous country till woman drivers can’t even wait in the car with windows wound down.. /s
Ali, have you not heard or seen of cases where bikers broke the windows of cars waiting for traffic light? These were with windows closed, what’s more if the window is wide open? Stick to reality instead of superficial image please.
I agree with this, cars shouldn’t be idling for long period of time especially but not limited to nearby eatery.
During hot day, driver will have to better plan how to wait outside of the car instead of waiting inside the car and blaming the weather.
Let’s do things one at a time. As it is, even monitoring that everyone complies to this new rule is going to be a massive exercise. Preferably, it is best for everyone to get used to it first before looking at other areas.
How about the same focus on eatery cleanliness?
some time Malaysian are genius. not really like to move a small step. always talk about the big step which is not able to achieve. when we talk about smoking at the restaurant, people will bring up the car emission near the restaurant, later on, people will bring up the factory emission. I’m not sure that later will someone bring up the airplane fly over his house and talk about the plane emission.
If you take a step back and look at the root cause of the issue: Eateries like coffee shops and mamaks shouldn’t even have dining tables placed outside the restaurants. Tables are too close or on the roads itself where an idling car can wait. What happened to lessons learnt from recent fatal accidents involving outdoor diners? Ask yourself, is the car encroaching your dining space on the road? Last I check, roads are meant for vehicles.
Pls ban motorcycle from parking eateries. Must be 5 meter from restaurants
This is normal reaction people will give when being blamed or wronged, divert the blame to other person or issue. But, the problem with car left idling is also a real issue that Malaysian should tackle as well. Start with while filling up in Petrol station… a disaster waiting to happen.
Yes please. All ICE vehicles should be considered hazardous!
Good article, and I fully support the smoking ban. In the past few days my smoking during meals has gone down 70%. The problem with 40% of Malaysians is the ‘tidak-apa’ attitude, even though 60% of Malaysians successfully kicked out the corrupt regime, the remaining 40% still are unambitious, deluded and stuck in the ‘biar lah.. boleh lah.. takpe lah.. loser mindset.. see above comments
Mana boleh? Minister car must be nearby & interior keep cool so Minister not suffer. Maklum lah Minister ni dah macam Mini-Star. Kesian Abang Polis outrider duduk under the hot sun tunggu our Mini-Star.
As a smoker I accept the ban and moved on.Now why do they ban smoking in the first place?Because 2nd hand smoke is hazardous to health.So if there is law against car idling at eateries I will support it.Why? you ask me.Simply because car exhaust is a pollutant to the environment and health.So smoking is hazardous and so exhaust fumes.
Granted we drives our vehicles but if stop and waiting.Especially at school gate,how many cars there idling while waiting for their kids?Plenty.If we smokers are hazardous for people,bear in you non smokers are doing the same thing by other means.
So whatever it is we are killing each other whether you realised it or not.
Life imprisonment for all who smoke anywhere in this country.
It’s people like you who rile up smokers everywhere. Not sure if you’re being sarcastic as if you are a smoker. If you are, there is no law that says you can’t smoke in your own house or car. Do it in your own private space but don’t pollute other people’s air. If you hate durian smell and I eat durian 2 feet beside you, won’t you mind? But don’t go and ask for life imprisonment for smokers who have their own rights. If they want to punish themselves, let them do it but don’t endanger others. It’s free will but make sure it’s your own will. Don’t impose on others.
Agreed. Lets make a petition
Ban 2 strokes bikes first. 2 stroke engines are designed to burn oil thus giving off so much smoke.
We don’t need cleaner fuel for cars if we all drive electric cars! Speaking of which, most 1st world countries are using less and less of the 1st class petrol due to electric cars so hopefully we can get the petrol here soon… Hopefully…
Considering there is no way to stop air pollution.Unless we go back some milliond of years. If smokers 3metres away puffing ha ha ha stop secondary smoke inhalation. What a joke.how come the restaurants still selling cigarettes. That’s OK.its for tax.ha ha ha.
I don’t see the smoking ban being something the health ministry is doing to avoid passive smokers from inhaling at all. Restaurants have appealed to create designated smoking sections from what I’ve read, and that’s been rejected. If the reason is due to tax payers’ money going to smoking related diseases, that sounds a lot more believable.
Anyway, there’s so many things that we could TRY enforce (it would take a hell of a lot of manpower though) through the government. I could come up with a looooong ass list. Idle engines, smoking, people not using their signal indicators, spitting in public. But this all really ties up to courtesty, manners, respect for each other. I believe the focus should be more on educating rather then enforcement. A lot of times I encounter things that I would consider common sense but apparently it’s not obvious to everyone.
Lessons on common courtesy, respect for other people, pollution blah blah blah all starts at home or at school or with friends and I think more energy should be spent on that.
Before the smoking ban took effect I used to keep away from tables with kids or elderly folks and even walk away from the shop for awhile if I didn’t have a choice. I for one wouldn’t wanna live in a state of fear for being summoned or jailed for the smallest of mistakes or ‘crimes’.
They say freedom is overrated but you wouldn’t know that until it gets taken away from you.
If you want to compare yourself to a car it is just sad because even a car can comply to emission requirement unless you are a Volkswagen lol
Let’s handle things one by one please. Then we progress from there. We havent even fully implemented smoking ban yet. Be patient.