Lax enforcement may render the Tobacco Order ineffective
Friday, August 10, 2007
ON WEDNESDAY, The Brunei Times (BT) published an article titled "Think before you Toke" in our weekly Newspaper in Education (NIE) supplement.
In it we highlighted our investigation into the sale of cigarettes to minors — in contravention of the 2005 Tobacco Order — and to find out how easy it was for a teenager in school uniform to buy cigarettes.
While the content of the article appearing in our NIE supplement was toned down for the benefit of our schoolchildren, the seriousness of our findings should not be played down.
The facts from our investigation remain the same and should be of concern: that it is simply too easy for teenagers and schoolchildren to buy cigarettes anywhere around the capital.
And the facts are: 20 outlets. 20 packs.
In less than three hours of our undercover operation, Khairul (not his real name), a 15 year old boy, who participated in this investigation with the consent of his parents, managed to buy 400 sticks of cigarettes — or 40mg to 1,120mg of addictive nicotine; enough to be lethal to adults if ingested in pure form.
Some of the outlets were chosen for our operation because they were within 5-10 minutes walking distance from school grounds, namely Sekolah Menengah Jamalul Alam, Maktab Sultan Omar 'Ali Saifuddien, Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Raja Isteri, and Sekolah Menengah Berakas.
In at least one of the shops near a school in Bandar Seri Begawan, several schoolchildren were seen in uniform loitering and smoking, with their friends.
In one of the more popular coffeehouses in Bandar Seri Begawan, opposite Wisma Jaya, the proprietor's son was seen manning the counter, collecting money from customers and selling cigarettes to them.
BT was alerted to this by members of the public who frequent this establishment and they have also observed on several occasions the sale of cigarettes by the minor.
Throughout the three hours of our investigation, time and time again, regardless of the location of the shops, Khairul managed to buy a pack of cigarettes without fail from each of the shops he approached.
The attendants of the shop never made the act of buying difficult nor did they make him feel uncomfortable.
In fact, the only question asked of him was his preference for "Hard pack or soft pack?".
And as if to make light of this infringement of the 2005 Tobacco Order, two shopkeepers that we approached even expressed their willingness to pose for our photographer.
At the end of our investigation, questions began to surface which stoked our concern: If the current state of affairs is so lax and no sign of enforcement is in place anywhere, what can society reasonably expect the authorities to do over the six months grace period for the enforcement of the 2005 Tobacco Order to be fully effective?
What have the authorities planned over the next six months with its corresponding milestone achievements that would make the enforcement of the Order complete and successful?
What will the authorities do to ensure our children are protected from the relative ease for them to buy a pack of cigarettes to experiment with?
What can the authorities do to give us the confidence that the Tobacco Order will be implemented effectively?
The questions BT has posed above stems from our concern that there is simply too much uncertainty over what the authorities will do to enforce the Order after the grace period is over.
Currently all one has to do in order to validate this concern is to simply walk around Ripas Hospital.
You will be met with sights of people smoking in the walkways within metres of the wards and patients, despite the fact that the hospital has been declared a smoke-free zone.
And in other places, some restaurants still sell cigarettes and patrons continue to smoke in front of No Smoking signs.
There are so many provisions in the Tobacco Order and only six months to enact them.
The Ministry of Health was reported in BT as saying that the sultanate's Tobacco Order will be fully enforced in early 2008.
So come early 2008, when Khairul, or others like him, approach an outlet to buy cigarettes, will they be greeted with a stern warning from the shopkeepers or will they get the same question: "Hard pack or soft pack?".
Six months from now, The Brunei Times will be out there, again, to find out for certain.
Chang Wei Hsiung is a contributing writer to The Brunei Times.
The Brunei Times
In it we highlighted our investigation into the sale of cigarettes to minors — in contravention of the 2005 Tobacco Order — and to find out how easy it was for a teenager in school uniform to buy cigarettes.
While the content of the article appearing in our NIE supplement was toned down for the benefit of our schoolchildren, the seriousness of our findings should not be played down.
The facts from our investigation remain the same and should be of concern: that it is simply too easy for teenagers and schoolchildren to buy cigarettes anywhere around the capital.
And the facts are: 20 outlets. 20 packs.
In less than three hours of our undercover operation, Khairul (not his real name), a 15 year old boy, who participated in this investigation with the consent of his parents, managed to buy 400 sticks of cigarettes — or 40mg to 1,120mg of addictive nicotine; enough to be lethal to adults if ingested in pure form.
Some of the outlets were chosen for our operation because they were within 5-10 minutes walking distance from school grounds, namely Sekolah Menengah Jamalul Alam, Maktab Sultan Omar 'Ali Saifuddien, Sekolah Tinggi Perempuan Raja Isteri, and Sekolah Menengah Berakas.
In at least one of the shops near a school in Bandar Seri Begawan, several schoolchildren were seen in uniform loitering and smoking, with their friends.
In one of the more popular coffeehouses in Bandar Seri Begawan, opposite Wisma Jaya, the proprietor's son was seen manning the counter, collecting money from customers and selling cigarettes to them.
BT was alerted to this by members of the public who frequent this establishment and they have also observed on several occasions the sale of cigarettes by the minor.
Throughout the three hours of our investigation, time and time again, regardless of the location of the shops, Khairul managed to buy a pack of cigarettes without fail from each of the shops he approached.
The attendants of the shop never made the act of buying difficult nor did they make him feel uncomfortable.
In fact, the only question asked of him was his preference for "Hard pack or soft pack?".
And as if to make light of this infringement of the 2005 Tobacco Order, two shopkeepers that we approached even expressed their willingness to pose for our photographer.
At the end of our investigation, questions began to surface which stoked our concern: If the current state of affairs is so lax and no sign of enforcement is in place anywhere, what can society reasonably expect the authorities to do over the six months grace period for the enforcement of the 2005 Tobacco Order to be fully effective?
What have the authorities planned over the next six months with its corresponding milestone achievements that would make the enforcement of the Order complete and successful?
What will the authorities do to ensure our children are protected from the relative ease for them to buy a pack of cigarettes to experiment with?
What can the authorities do to give us the confidence that the Tobacco Order will be implemented effectively?
The questions BT has posed above stems from our concern that there is simply too much uncertainty over what the authorities will do to enforce the Order after the grace period is over.
Currently all one has to do in order to validate this concern is to simply walk around Ripas Hospital.
You will be met with sights of people smoking in the walkways within metres of the wards and patients, despite the fact that the hospital has been declared a smoke-free zone.
And in other places, some restaurants still sell cigarettes and patrons continue to smoke in front of No Smoking signs.
There are so many provisions in the Tobacco Order and only six months to enact them.
The Ministry of Health was reported in BT as saying that the sultanate's Tobacco Order will be fully enforced in early 2008.
So come early 2008, when Khairul, or others like him, approach an outlet to buy cigarettes, will they be greeted with a stern warning from the shopkeepers or will they get the same question: "Hard pack or soft pack?".
Six months from now, The Brunei Times will be out there, again, to find out for certain.
Chang Wei Hsiung is a contributing writer to The Brunei Times.
The Brunei Times
Business Besides Oil
