THE Malacca Health Department issued a total of 104 notices with a compound value of RM29,750 involving various offences during a mega enforcement operation on tobacco products conducted yesterday and today.

State Health and Anti-Drug Committee chairman Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said 35 premises selling tobacco products were inspected by enforcement officers from the state customs department and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.

He said seven premises had been identified for selling cigarettes below the minimum price and selling smuggled cigarettes, adding that eight notices with a compound value of RM4,000 were issued and 155 packets of various types of cigarettes worth RM1,542 seized.

“We have also detected premises that were selling cigarettes to school students and under-18 teenagers,” he told reporters in a media conference in Ayer Keroh today, which was also attended by Malacca Health Director Dr Rusdi Abdul Rahman and Malacca Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs director Norena Jaafar.

Elaborating, he said 180 premises had been inspected during the operation, including grocery stores, restaurants and eateries, and 66 individuals were compounded for smoking in no-smoking areas. – Bernama, July 15, 2022.