Health Ministry Probing Cheap ‘Mini Cigars’ In East Malaysia

A pack of 20 cigarettes typically retails at RM17.50.

KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — The Health Ministry is investigating the sale of so-called “mini cigars” in Sabah and Sarawak that retail at RM4.50 for a pack of 10 sticks and RM9 for a 20-stick pack.

Free Malaysia Today reported that these tobacco products being sold in sundry shops, which bear the brand of a major tobacco company, were believed to be smuggled due to the lack of a tax stamp.

“As a general rule, all legal cigarettes are subject to regulations under the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004,” Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye told Free Malaysia Today.

A pack of 20 cigarettes typically retails at RM17.50. The law prohibits the sale of smaller cigarette packs.

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