PETALING JAYA - Retailers and coffeeshops have started keeping smoking products in covered cabinets to comply with the new rule that started on April 1.
The Federation of Sundry Goods Merchants Associations of Malaysia president, Mr Hong Chee Meng, said its grocery store members nationwide have complied with the Health Ministry’s directive by either removing cigarettes from display shelves or covering the cabinets with cloth.
“We hope enforcement officers won’t issue fines immediately when inspecting stores but instead educate and guide business owners on how to properly implement closed-off cigarette sales. After all, we are licensed sellers,” he said.
“Not displaying cigarettes might give customers the impression that we no longer sell them. The profit margin on cigarettes is already very low – selling a pack only gives us a 7 per cent profit,” he added.
Mr Hong pointed out that the government should prioritise crackdowns on contraband cigarettes.
“If smokers assume that legal stores no longer sell cigarettes, they may turn to the illegal market instead,” he said.
In March, the Ministry of Health said it will be cooperating with smoking product retailers to ensure they comply with proper enclosed cabinets by Oct 1.
The ministry said in a statement then that enforcement would be done in phases.
The display ban at counters was scheduled to come into effect on April 1, involving some 51,000 retailers.
It said keeping the products in a closed cabinet is the best way to restrict display compared to covering them with cloth or canvas.
Meanwhile, the Klang Coast Provision and Sundry Goods Retailers president, Mr Tan Teck Hock, said he had removed all cigarettes from display.
“Store owners are still waiting for further instructions from the Ministry of Health on how to properly implement closed-off cigarette sales,” he said.
“I even had customers thinking I no longer sell cigarettes, and I had to explain to them,” he added.
Kopitiam owner Arjun Sharma, 45, said they had already been working on ways to comply with the directive since first being notified by the Ministry of Health.
“Yes, I’ve stored the cigarettes inside a cabinet. I only take them out when a customer asks, but many think we have stopped selling them,” he added.
Checks in Penang, in the meantime, showed that most coffee shops are waiting for their tobacco products suppliers to help them to comply with the new ruling.
A coffee shop owner, who wished to be known only as Ms Chen, 55, said she would wait for the cigarette supplier’s notice.
“The counter and cabinet is provided by the company for us to sell their cigarettes,” she said.
“Up to the end of March, we received no word about what to do from our suppliers,” she added.
Sundry shop owner Bryan Chuah, 24, said there was still time for the authorities to refine the ruling and for businesses to prepare.
“We have been briefed by the Health Department and suppliers of the rules, but there are no solid guidelines,” he said, adding that he understands that suppliers will assist them to comply with the ruling.
“At the moment, the glass panels of my display will need to be replaced and I hope the suppliers will provide it for us,” he said.
Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/retailers-in-malaysia-stop-displaying-smoking-products-from-april-1