PETALING JAYA: Nearly 80% of Malaysians are exposed to tobacco smoke in restaurants, according to a global tobacco survey.
The 2023 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) released today reported that 77.6% of adults were exposed to tobacco smoke in restaurants.
“Nearly 29.2% were exposed (to it) in government buildings, 19% on public transport and 18.6% in healthcare facilities,” it said.
According to the survey, 21% of Malaysian adults were exposed to tobacco smoke at work, while 19.4% experienced the same at home.
Meanwhile, GATS also found that 41% of adult smokers in Malaysia have no intention of quitting.
It said only 9% of smoking adults plan to quit within the next month and 13% plan to quit within the next 12 months. Another 37% intend to quit “someday”.
The survey further found that 4.8 million adults in Malaysia, or 19% of the population, smoke. Out of this total, 3.7 million people, or 14.6%, are smoking every day.
The survey was conducted in more than 30 countries globally.
Conducted over two months by the health ministry, with the help of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, GATS covered 5,780 households in all states, with respondents aged 15 and above.
Source: FMT
