JANUARY, 2019 | Th e HEALTH
ISSUE: SMOKING
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AWARDED FOR BLUE RIBBON COMMUNITY
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2
3
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2
LOCALES
Kampung Malaysia Raya, Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur
Kampung Sg. Jerneh, Lubuk China, Melaka
Kampung Parit Rampai, Pontian, Johor
AWARDED FOR BLUE RIBBON BEYOND
PREMISES
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Pahang Branch Jengka Campus
Putra Specialist Hospital (Malacca) Sdn Bhd
EXCELLENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Restoran Hussain Nasi Kandar (Sejahtera Suci Sdn Bhd)
AWARDS AND CERTIFICATION FOR THE BLUE RIBBON CAMPAIGN 2018
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ABOUT
Overall certifi cations and accreditation of Blue Ribbon Campaign 2018
Recipients in peninsular Malaysia:
a. Award for Blue Ribbon Smoke Free Premise (Non-PPKHT)
b. Award for Blue Ribbon Community
c. Award for Blue Ribbon Beyond
d. Award for Excellent Achievement
Division of recipients based on Smoke Free Premise Recognition
Category in peninsular Malaysia:
a. Restaurant/Eatery
b. Hotel/Homestay/Guest House
c. Tourist Spot
d. Exhibition Center
e. Public Laundromat
f. Business Premise (Hypermarkets, Grocery Stores, Bicycle Store, Pet Store)
g. Chicken Processing Center
f. Community Welfare Center
The challenges
Certain reactions – either by individuals, groups of
people, or certain organizations may not be in favor
of the government’s initiative. General opposing
consensus towards the initiative is it will take away
the rights for people to smoke. Th e purchasing power
of cigarettes in Malaysia is still very high. People have
very good access to it, and while the prices has been
increased in recent years, there seems to be little eff ect
on the buyer’s purchasing power.
On top of that, there is still the ‘I know doesn’t
mean I do’ habit among all of us. Th ere has been
endless educational literature, TV commercials, hor-
rifying images on cigarette packs, and health events
which convey the dangers of smoking. We all know
about it, the smokers know about it. Yet the preva-
lence continues. Th erefore there is a need to evolve
the means of advocating.
Strategies to promote a smoke-free nation
“The Blue Ribbon campaign in Malaysia has
accredited and recognized so many establishments
in the country since its inception. Th e reception of
the parties being accredited shows that the desire
to have a smoke-free environment is strong among
Malaysians,” Wan Azrin comments.
Th ere is a total of 155 premises who had made their
surroundings smoke-free through the Blue Ribbon
certifi cation just this year alone. “With the govern-
ment’s initiative be implemented in 2019, we have
to the general public.
The WHO encourages health ministries of member
states to take full ownership of the national campaign
consistent with the objectives of the Regional Action
Plan for the Tobacco Free Initiative in the Western
Pacifi c Region (2010-2014).
The action plan encourages member states to
develop a system to publicly recognise outstanding
contributions of allies and partners as well as to
reinforce social mobilisation efforts in regards to a non-
smoking environment.
How it will be implemented
The WHO has established a few implementation
strategies to be used by the health ministries of
member states. The fi rst is to establish a steering
committee to developing plans for recognition of
individuals or groups with abilities to monitor with
effi ciency.
Other than that, the implementation will also include
orientation meetings, creating a symbol for the national
campaign, deciding the timeline for nominations
and receipt of applications, criteria for selection and
organising public events to announce the recipients.
TOTAL
155 premises
109 premises
103 premises
3 locales
2 premises
1 recipient
39 premises
25 premises
4 premises
2 premises
10 premises
15 premises
5 premises
3 premises
expanded our Blue Ribbon campaign to communities
and villages in rural areas.”
Make sense, as statistics has shown that the major-
ity of smokers in Malaysia lives in rural areas rather
than urban.
“Th ere is also the initiatives taken by state gov-
ernments to make parts of the cities in Malaysia
no-smoking zones, with the more prominent one
being in Malacca.” Malacca declared that fi ve promi-
nent zones in the state are non-smoking zones, which
includes Malacca world heritage city, Melaka Raya,
Malacca International Trade Centre and the Alor
Gajah and Jasin town centers, and MITC” says Wan
Azrin.
Other states who had taken the steps into the pro-
gram includes Johor, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu,
Sarawak, and Pahang. Th e initiative taken
by these states in Malaysia is part of the
‘Bandaraya Bebas Asap Rokok’ program
initiated back in 2010, which sets a
goal to have the main cities of each
states in the country free of cigarette
smoke.
So far, there has been 33 zones in the
country which has been declared smoke-
free zones. All has been the result of
collaboration between the state
governments and MHPB. — Th e
Health
Criteria for
certifi cation
THERE are three categories of awards
for presentation to organisations,
establishments or individuals who have
contributed in support of a smoke-free
policy:
1. Certifi cate
This is given to any premises or
establishments which have implemented
smoke-free indoor and/or outdoor.
2. Media award
This is awarded to the mass media,
print or electronic in recognition of
their outstanding work in publicising
and creating awareness of smoke-free
policies in line with the Blue Ribbon
campaign objectives.
3. Outstanding
achievement award
This is given to advocates of smoke-free
environment.
Criteria
• Demonstrate management’s
commitment with written statement
indicating that the premises practise
smoke-free policy.
• Exhibit premises’ smoke-free policy/
statement conspicuously on a signage
no smaller than A3 size.
• Smoke-free policy communicated to
members and customers.
• Install adequate “no smoking” signages
in any conspicuous area of the premises,
especially at the entrance.
• Not selling cigarettes/tobacco products
or any product associated with the brand
or cigarette manufacturer.
• Not putting up posters or any form of
cigarette advertising/promotion.
• Does not provide any facility for
smoking, including ashtrays, litter bins
with ashtrays and room/smoking area.
• Do not exhibit any smoking activities on
the premises.
• Install posters on the dangers of
smoking and exposure to second-hand
smoke hazards, including distributing
leafl ets to members or customers.
• Facilitate/prepare/manage quit
smoking services for members who
smoke.
• Efforts of the owner or residents of the
premises in promoting creative smoke-
free premises campaign.
• Have available mechanism/approach
to ensure that no person smokes in the
premises.
Information extracted from the
Blue Ribbon Campaign website at
www.myblueribbon.org.my.