Introduce 10-stick cigarette packs: Associations

FOUR associations representing some 40,000 retailers have signed a memorandum asking for the government to introduce 10-stick cigarettes packs.
The four – Malaysia-Singapore Coffeeshop Proprietors General Association (MSCSPGA), Malaysia Sundry Goods Merchants Federation, Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Association (Presma) and Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) – told the media after signing the memorandum in Kuala Lumpur on Monday that the move is to fight illicit cigarette trade, Nanyang Siang Pau reported today.
They are seeking a dialogue with the government to discuss the introduction of 10-stick cigarettes packs.
"The government should explore means to overcome the issue of the illicit cigarette market. People from the middle-lower and lower-income brackets resort to buying illicit cigarettes because they can't afford the legal ones (which are sold in bigger 20-stick packs).
"The smaller (10-stick) packs will give smokers a better and legitimate choice," the associations said in the memorandum.
MSCSPGA chairman Ho Su Mong pointed out that retailers saw a drop of more than 50% in sales ever since the government banned 14-stick packs in 2011; meaning more than half the number of smokers who used to buy their cigarettes from legal sources have switched to getting them from the illicit market.
He said the government banned 14-stick packs as well as increasing the prices of cigarettes with the aim of reducing the number of smokers, "but the number has increased from 4,700,000 in 2011 to 5,000,000 in 2015, an indication that the measures taken were not successful".
Primas president Muthusamy Thirumeni said retailers believe that introducing the 10-stick packs will prompt smokers to switch back to the legitimate stuff due to the smaller price differences.
He believed many would still opt for the legitimate packs if the price is, RM8-9, compared with RM5 in the illicit market.
At present, the price of 20-stick packs at RM17 each is much too high compared with those sold in the illicit market.