"From the workforce aspect, these deaths are really a loss to the country as half of them occur among those at the age where they are still productive in contributing to the economy of the country," said Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Paduka Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah.

During the first meeting of the National Committee on Tobacco Control at the Ministry of Health, he said that smoking-related diseases such as heart attacks, cancer, stroke, respiratory diseases and asthma are the main cause of deaths in the Sultanate.

A survey carried out in 2001 showed that there were about 40,000 smokers in Brunei, 80 per cent of which were aged between 20-34 while 17.5 per cent was made up of those between 15 to 20-year-olds.

Pehin Dato Hj Hazair said that 90 per cent of lung cancers are caused by usage of tobacco-related products.

"Smoking also causes a number of other cancer diseases such as cervical and kidney cancer," he said.

The deputy minister said that the costs of treating such chronic diseases were a heavy burden on government resources.

"In 2008, the government spent as much as $20.7 million on medicine for treatment of chronic diseases, which is 51 per cent of the entire expenditure spent on medicines for the year," he said.

Pehin Dato Hj Hazair added that the total figure does not include hospital treatment expenditures, costs of intensive treatments, surgeries and sending patients overseas for further treatment, adding that these patients would usually have to undergo continuous treatment which in turn will have a negative affect on their jobs and productivity.

With this in mind, the deputy minister touched on the mission of the committee to continue past efforts of reducing the number of smokers in the country to achieve a non smoking generation in Brunei.

"(The committee) also aims to reduce the number of present smokers in Brunei Darussalam through awareness campaigns on the harmful affects of smoking," he said, adding that the committee will also help in protecting non-smokers from the effects of public smoking.

"To move towards this direction, the National Committee on Tobacco Control needs to plan its short-term, medium and long-term strategy action plan to ensure a comprehensive implementation of tobacco control efforts," he added.

The 2005 Tobacco Order came into full enforcement on June 1, 2008 to control, reduce and prevent tobacco-related diseases and death.

Under the order, only one pack of each brand is allowed to be displayed to the public, the rest of the stocks have to be hidden from view.

The import or sale of cigarette packs which contained less than 20 cigarette sticks is prohibited. Failure to comply would result in a fine of $10,000 or six months' jail.

Advertisements of tobacco products in any form, such as ashtrays or posters which contain brand names of these products is now an offence, while retailers selling tobacco products to those under the age of 18 are liable to a fine of $5,000 and a minor purchasing the product can be fined $10,000 or serve a six month jail term.

A licence is now mandatory for the import and sale of tobacco products under the Tobacco Laws 2007. An annual fee of $2,500 is required to attain the licence.

Any violation of the Tobacco Order 2005 or the Tobacco Laws 2007 will result in the suspension or cancellation of the retailer or importer's licence.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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