Malaysia - stepping up efforts to curb the trade in illicit cigarettes,..

November 27, 2009 - Malaysia is stepping up efforts to curb the trade in illicit cigarettes, some of which are selling for less than half of the price of brands on which local taxes have been paid, according to a report in The Star.

Back on September 10, 2009 - we reported one out of every three cigarette packs sold in peninsular Malaysia is either contraband or fake. Map - Malaysia..

There is some official concern too that prices are so low they are encouraging people to start smoking, not merely encouraging established smokers to continue in their habit.

The Trade, Co-operative and Consumerism Minis¬try’s deputy director-general (enforcement), Iskandar Halim Sulaiman, said his ministry had yesterday conducted raids on seven outlets in Selayang, Kepong and other parts of Kuala Lumpur. The raids had netted 323 packs of cigarettes that were believed to have been brought in from Indonesia, Thailand and China. The cigarette packs either had no address of the wholesaler or importer, or displayed false addresses.

In two separate operations recently Penang Customs seized 2.7 million sticks of cigarettes worth RM1.5 million (0.444774 million USD) including duty, which were being smuggled into the country.

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Malaysia - PSD and Cuepacs are at odds over the no-smoking rule at government de­­partments and agencies..;
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Malaysia - 25% of all cigarettes sales are illegal...Peninsular Malaysia - one of three cigarette packs is either contraband or fake..;
Komtar, Penang, Malaysia smoking ban strictly enforced..;
Malaysia student forced to smoke 40 cigarettes in two hours..
Malaysia - PSD and Cuepacs are at odds over the no-smoking rule at government de­­partments and agencies..;
Malaysia: Are tobacco control measures working? - WHO thinks so...;
Malaysia - slowdown in cigarette consumption..;
Malaysia - January 1, 2009 pictorial cigarette warnings..;
Malaysia to hike cigarette prices..;
Malaysia - 25% of all cigarettes sales are illegal...