SEPANG, Nov 11 — Effective today, AirAsia has ceased the sale of duty free cigarettes on board as well as on its website, said AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes.

Speaking at the launch of AirAsia No Smoking and Dengue Awareness Campaign at RedQ here today, he said the airline has implemented a company wide smoke— and vape-free environment at 120 offices and stations across Asia Pacific while RedQ, the airline’s headquarters, is now a 100 per cent smoke-free building.

Speaking in a media conference later, Fernandes said tobacco sales generated RM9 million in revenue to AirAsia group annually.

“AirAsia is also looking at stopping the sales of other products such as alcohol. It is going to be a bit tricky, but we are not rushing it. There is no time frame for that,” he said.

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Meanwhile, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said AirAsia becomes the first airline in the country to implement such policies.

Speaking at the event, he said the ministry will present the Blue Ribbon Campaign’s Outstanding Achievement Award to Fernandes for his AirAsia’s anti-smoking campaign during the Blue Ribbon Campaign awards presentation ceremony on Nov 22.

According to Dr Dzulkefly, some 23 per cent of Malaysians are smokers and about 20,000 deaths due to smoking-related diseases are recorded annually. — Bernama

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