Malaysia considers stopping government welfare for young smokers

Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian minister has proposed that the government stops offering welfare aid for youths and students who are smokers, a news report said Tuesday. "They say they are poor, have nothing. But if they can buy cigarettes, we say you are not qualified to receive any aid," Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

The government recently announced that the price of cigarettes would be raised from January 1 by more than 30 per cent. Cigarettes would cost 32 sen (9 US cents) a piece, from the current price of 24 sen.

The move was to reduce the ability to buy cigarettes, especially among the young and low-income groups.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301293,malaysia-considers-stopping-government-welfare-for-young-smokers.html.