GEORGE TOWN (Oct 9): The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) hopes the government will consider introducing a higher sales tax on cigarettes in the upcoming Budget 2026, as part of efforts to curb smoking and promote public health.

CAP education officer NV Subbarow said it has been several years since cigarettes were last subject to sales tax, with the most recent imposition in 2018 on tobacco products.

“Smokers spend about RM500 every month, and as such, CAP expects a mandatory sales tax on cigarettes in Budget 2026, if the government wants to reduce the current number of five million smokers.

“Higher prices make tobacco products less affordable, which reduces overall consumption and encourages users to quit or reduce their smoking, besides making it harder for young people to start smoking, significantly reducing the initiation and uptake of tobacco use,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

He said that additional revenue from tobacco taxation could also support health initiatives, including programmes to help Malaysians quit smoking.

Citing international findings, Subbarow said the International Agency for Research on Cancer has found sufficient evidence that tax increase, which raise cigarette prices, reduces tobacco use, prevalence, initiation and overall consumption.

He also noted that the World Health Organization recommends price and tax measures as effective ways to reduce tobacco use, a policy found to have positive impacts in many countries.

“CAP believes the caring Madani government, [and] Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim), will announce healthy news on the cigarette tax in Budget 2026,” he said.

Anwar, who is also finance minister, is scheduled to table Budget 2026 in Parliament on Friday (Oct 10).

Click here for all you need to know about Malaysia's Budget 2026.

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