An estimated five million Malaysians or some 20% of the population are smokers.
Speaking to FMT, spokesmen for two of the organisations said their customers, unable to buy cigarettes on which tax has been paid, had told them they had turned to the black market. Hong Chee Meng, who heads the Federation of Sundry Goods Merchants Association of Malaysia, said he too had spoken to smokers who admitted that they were buying smuggled cigarettes at RM5 to RM7 per pack of 20.
According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey, about five million Malaysians, or 22.8% of the population, are smokers.T Muthusamy, the president of the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association, said there was a readily available market for contraband cigarettes.Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry executive director Shaun Edward Cheah said the trade in illicit cigarettes had been going on for a long time but had picked up since the MCO came into effect.