A recent video shared on X has ignited a heated debate regarding the enforcement of smoking bans in public areas, particularly eateries and restaurants.
Yesterday, a user on X and a cardiologist, Dr Ezman Shariff @ezmanshariff, posted a nine-second clip showcasing a man openly smoking at a mamak restaurant, seemingly indifferent to the ban in place.
In his post, he lamented, “What have we become! Smoking is prohibited in eating areas and yet no one cares. When others speak up because a four-year-old is in the vicinity, they get threatened. Truly the end of Generation End-Game. Perhaps the end of a generation as a whole!”
The video showed a man wearing a dark blue t-shirt smoking within the mamak premises. Upon realising he was being filmed, the smoker attempted to confront Ezman but was restrained by a friend.
The encounter ended with the smoker making derogatory gestures towards the camera, including taunting and displaying a middle finger.
The incident caused widespread criticism on the platform, with many users expressing frustration over the lack of compliance and inadequate enforcement by authorities.
Suggestions have been made to hold establishments accountable for allowing open smoking, with some advocating for negative reviews as a form of protest.
@jungledweller1 suggested, “Next time, go to the shop worker and inform them that you will be filing a report with the Health Ministry, as they are responsible for not prohibiting such customers from smoking cigarettes in the shop vicinity. I have done this before, and in my experience, the employee was the one who approached the perpetrator and told them off.”
“I have encountered a similar situation. I confronted an individual for smoking inside the restaurant, right behind my wife and I and his response was, ‘Even if I smoke, what can you do?’” shared @rijal_faiz.
Meanwhile, @playcateslay commented, “This keeps happening. Malaysia implemented laws that seemed ‘progressive’ but were never enforced. Everything is so shallow as if we have no leader.”
The majority of comments are frustrated with the government’s perceived inaction and call for the reinforcement of stricter anti-smoking laws that have already been enacted.
On November 28 last year, the Health Ministry removed the Generational End Game element from the revised Control of Smoking Products for Public Health 2023 Bill.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad informed the Dewan Rakyat last week that the removal was due to a constitutional issue and not industry pressure.
ALSO READ: Dr Dzulkefly: GEG exclusion has nothing to do with industry lobbyists
ALSO READ: GEG dropped from approved anti-smoking Bill
