Letter from reader.
By : Ahmed Natasha
It’s a great effort by KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA to come up with the no smoking zones and to increase the price of cigarettes . I believe this effort is to make smokers quit the habit .
However, to quit smoking is hard and every smoker needs NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) to cope with cravings and withdrawals. The only NRT in Malaysian market now are lozenges,patches and chewing gum manufactured by big pharmaceutical companies which costs a fortune.
Government should not only increase the price of cig and enforce more no smoking zones but they need to help rakyat kick the habit . One of the many ways to help the rakyat is to make NRT cheaper and more affordable . Smokers will find it hard to purchase NRT lozenges or gum when the price is higher than cigarettes.
The price hike for cigarettes are meant to stop people from buying and making it not affordable but NRT products are even higher
Below is the price list of NRT gum 👇🏻
Works fast to relieve your cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Comes in 2mg or 4mg to let you choose the right strength based on how much you smokeNicotine absorbs quickly through the lining of your mouth
Nicorette Nicotine replacement therapy gum price
RM30= 1 PALLET = 15 PIECES
Rm192.50- 7PALLET= 105 pieces
Available icy mint 4 mg only
A smoker needs one piece of gum every 4-5 hours depending on how many sticks they smoke a day . The more you smoke the more gum you need .
There is a picture of Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad in the parliament with the Speaker while deputy health minister, Lee Boon Chye is holding NRT product .
Is the ministry trying to promote NRT from big pharmaceutical companies ? If so is the decision to increase the price and enforce more no smoking zones motivated by giant pharmaceutical companies ? To clarify this issue Datuk Seri Minister have to find a way to decrease the price of NRT product make it cheaper than cigarettes in order to make it easier and cheaper for smokers to quit .
Smokers don’t really care about their health that’s why they smoke the only way to make them quit is to make sure they burn a hole in their pockets if they want to buy cigarettes not NRT products . If NRT products are more expensive they will continue buying cigarettes .
If this move to minimize the number of smokers in Malaysia is genuine and sincere the price NRT should be reduced. Enforcing laws without giving a solution is stupid . This effort is to make people quit smoking not to fleece rakyat . – TTKM-
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Buletin TTKM. – Editor
