SEGAMAT, June 14 — The Health Ministry is in the midst of drafting a new law to ensure that consumers in the country are supplied with water that comes not only from clean and safe sources, but also meets the standard of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam, when announcing the matter, said the draft would be submitted to the Attorney-General before being tabled at the Parliament before end of the year.
“This new law will give the power to the ministry to carry out inspections on basic sources, as well as on the processing and distribution of water supply to ensure that the water is truly safe for consumption.
“Right now, the power of the ministry in ensuring that the water is safe for consumption is only limited to the source level, while matters concerning the processing and distribution of the water supply are under the state governments' jurisdiction.”
He said this to reporters after opening the ‘Jom Jaga Gigi’ programme at Kampung Balai Badang, Buloh Kasap, Segamat here today.
Meanwhile, the minister said the increase in the number of women smokers in the country, especially among teenagers aged between 15 and 18, was worrying and could affect the government's goal to reduce the smoking rate in the country from the current 23.1 per cent to 16 per cent by 2025.
He said according to the ministry's survey, five per cent out of the 20 per cent teenage smokers aged between 15 and 18 in the country were female.
“This increase terrified us,” he said.
Subramaniam also said the government's move in increasing the price of cigarettes to up to RM12 per packet had yet to be proven effective in reducing the smoking rate in the country because smokers could easily purchase smuggled cigarettes from local dealers.
As such, he called on law enforcers to intensify efforts to combat smuggling of cigarettes in the country. — Bernama
