Jainab presenting certificate of appreciation to Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai during the City Halls 19th Pemadam annual general meeting yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Drug Prevention Association (Persatuan Mencegah Dadah Malaysia or Pemadam) vice president cum Sabah chairperson, Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid has called for measures to be imposed on vaping as it might be misused for consuming drugs.
Vaping or e-cigarettes, she said, should be banned in public places, particularly in restaurants, just as smoking is not allowed in such places.
“Not all e-cigarettes contain drugs but there are those who misuse them and consume drugs through vaping,” said Jainab, when met after officiating at the Kota Kinabalu City Hall’s 19th Pemadam annual general meeting at the City Hall, here yesterday.
She said that while the issue had yet to be proposed at the cabinet level, she had asked all relevant bodies including Pemadam, local governments, police, the National Anti-Drug Agency (Agensi Anti Dadah Kebangsaan or AADK), as well as the Health Department to get moving in getting restaurants to ban vaping in their premises, and to take action against those who do.
This call was made following concerns that the number of drug abuse among youths continues to rise despite the association’s mission to make the country a zero-drug country by 2015.
“People are making business out of drugs and statistics show that the number one age group involved in drug consumption are those aged 18 to 25, followed by those aged 26 to 35, all of which are our youth.
“Drug abuse is also found to be prominent in those working in the private sector, especially general workers, followed by the unemployed and self-employed,” she added.
Therefore, she said, all parties must understand this and realise that curbing drug problem among youth and the society was everyone’s responsibility, especially parents.
“I urge parents to report their child to Pemadam as soon as they detect drug problems in their children, not to send them to jail but we do have ‘care and cure’ approaches to help them,” stressed Jainab.
Meanwhile, Jainab, who is also the Karambunai assemblywoman, called on the police to probe into claims of open distribution and selling of drugs in her constituency.
“I have received a number of complaints saying that drugs are being openly sold in Jalan Karambunai area. So I hope that the police together with AADK and the City Hall will conduct operations in this area and catch the culprits.
“I also urge local leaders to patrol their respective areas more and to report such illegal activities to the relevant bodies.
“The people themselves also need to be more aware of this issue and cooperate by reporting,” she said.