PUTRAJAYA, April 25 ― The education enforcement period for smoking ban at eatery outlets will be extended until the end of this year, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad.

He said the extension was to give ample opportunities for smokers to increase awareness on the danger of smoking.

The proposed extension of the education enforcement period was agreed at a meeting chaired by him on April 16 and attended by 10 other ministries and a representative of a non-governmental organisation, he said in a statement here today.

Dzulkefly said the meeting also decided to apply for an additional allocation to help smokers to quit smoking through the mQuit programme.

He said the nationwide smoking ban at all eateries that came into effect on January 1 had received various reactions from all walks of life.

A study conducted by the National Cancer Society from April 1 to 17 involving 173 eateries in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya showed that most people had started not to smoke in the gazetted areas, he added.

Dzulkefly said the number of smokers who registered to quit smoking at the jomquit.moh.gov.my website had increased to 580 people from January to April 2019, compared to an average of 428 people in the previous years. ― Bernama