GEORGE TOWN: Civil servants who smoke will be recommended to go for a three-month nicotine treatment course in a move to turn Penang into a “smoke-free” state.
State Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said those attending the Health Ministry-sponsored course would be given nicotine patches, talks and encouragement.
“The course, which started this month, is only to help them through the difficult period of nicotine withdrawal and it is up to them to decide whether to continue smoking or not after this,” he said.
“The most important thing is that the smokers must have the determination to quit. They must be strong-willed or else the course will be a waste,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Phee said he hoped to encourage all in the state to quit smoking by beginning with the civil servants.
“It will be an abuse of human rights if we were to only hire non-smokers as civil servants, so we have to put more effort into encouraging the people to stop smoking,” he added.
On the state’s effort to gazette certain recreational areas as “no-smoking” zones, Phee said they were waiting for approval from the ministry.
It was reported in July that the state was considering gazetting part of the Gurney Drive promenade as a smoke-free zone to create a greener environment for Penangites and tourists.
“We are also looking at food outlets since cleanliness is very important to attract tourists to the state, which is famous for its hawker food,” he said.
“Last week, two Chinese restaurants were closed down and only allowed to reopen after cleaning up within 14 days,” he added.
Phee said many people at the ferry terminal still ignored the “no-smoking” signs there and smoked while waiting for the ferry to arrive.
“We are strictly enforcing this regulation at the terminal and enforcement officers will conduct spot checks to ensure that the smoking ban was not flouted,” he said.
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