Is more expensive cigarette a good way to deter smoking?

It doesn’t bother me how much cigarette prices are going up tomorrow. But the question is whether it is effective to encourage people to quit smoking by increasing the prices exorbitantly. It may to a certain extent as a 20-stick pack will now cost about RM 10 and that's a lot for an average income person. I guess most of the smokers will turn to the smuggled cigarettes which are cheaper. As it was reported by the Star, there are approximately 100 types of smuggled cigarettes available in the local market.

If you are in Sabah, especially in places like Lahad Datu, Sandakan or Tawau, you can see many toddlers peddling around selling illegal cigarettes. These are very young street kids, boys and girls alike either following their parents or they themselves squatting outside the coffee shops or wet market selling illegal cigarettes. Very often you can see the young boys are puffing as well when they are selling.

Increasing the prices of cigarettes may not necessary be effective to deter people from smoking if cheaper options of smuggled cigarettes is easy available. Hence, the Ministry of Health should instead impose stricter rule to widen the demarcation of non-smoking areas especially in the restaurants even the open air ones. Very often we can see the irresponsible people smoke openly in the restaurant even there are babies or toddlers around them. It is a smoker’s choice to disregard the health hazard posed by cigarettes, but our authority on the other hand is not doing enough to protect the non-smokers especially the young kids from the inhalation of nicotine especially in public areas.