Nearly 45,000 students found using cigarettes, vapes last year

KUALA LUMPUR: Almost 45,000 students nationwide were found to have used smoking products — including conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and vapes — last year, according to the Health Ministry.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, said the figure comprised 44,211 secondary school students and 230 primary school pupils, identified through the Oral Health Without Smoking Practices Programme.

“In 2024, this programme successfully screened 2,711,479 pupils nationwide, of which 230 were found to be smokers with 55 using conventional cigarettes and 138 using e-cigarettes or vapes. Out of this number, 201 students participated in smoking cessation interventions.

“A total of 1,870,427 secondary school students were screened, of which 44,211 were identified as smokers, with 17,172 using conventional cigarettes and 19,782 using e-cigarettes or vapes. A total of 36,870 students participated in smoking cessation interventions,” he said in a written Senate reply.

He was responding to Senator Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof, who had asked about the effectiveness of smoking cessation programmes among today’s younger generation.

Dr Dzulkefly said there are 857 clinics to help smokers quit through behavioural modification therapy, pharmacotherapy, or a combination of both, over a six-month period.

“In 2024, a total of 38,467 smokers registered for the cessation programme at the clinics. Of these, 8,659 clients set a quit date and 4,916 successfully quit smoking, recording a quit rate of 56.8 per cent.”

He added that the ministry has optimised the use of technology through the JomQuit platform, which provides online consultations by certified healthcare professionals.

From October 2024 to last month, he said 1,968 clients received cessation consultation services via this platform.

“All these initiatives reflect the effectiveness of the programmes specifically designed to help the younger generation break free from smoking and vaping addiction, in line with the Health Ministry’s aspiration to create a smoke-free generation,” he said.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

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