October 1, 2025
KUALA LUMPUR – It is high time for the government to increase taxes on cigarettes in the upcoming Budget 2026 as previous hikes were made some years ago, say civil society leaders.
They said it is a matter of concern that prices have remained the same for cigarettes since September 2018.
Retired Health Ministry director Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said the tax should be increased to discourage Malaysians from picking up the habit.
“It should be used for health prevention and promotion programmes such as health education using digital technology, targeted screening for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), cancers and quit smoking programmes,” Dr Zainal said.
He said the extra revenue generated from the tax hike could also be spent on research and development projects for recovery and prevention.
Excise duties from cigarettes and e-cigarettes – including vape and its nicotine and non-nicotine liquids – contributed RM15.3bil into the government’s coffers from 2021 until July 2025.
Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) senior education officer and anti-smoking activist NV Subbarow said it is a concern that no tax has been levied on cigarettes since 2018.
He said an average smoker spends about RM500 a month on tobacco.
“Even healthy food doesn’t cost that much. If the tax is imposed, thousands of families will save a lot of money spent on cigarettes,” he said.
Subbarow said price increases on cigarettes are highly effective in reducing market demand.
“Higher taxes cause some smokers to quit and deter others from starting to smoke,” he said, adding that CAP had previously proposed for cigarettes to be sold at RM40 per pack.
He also called for the alcohol tax to be increased.
“Many people are addicted to cheap liquor due to its low price,” he said.
In 2016, a 150% increase in excise duty for locally produced hard liquor was imposed from RM24 per litre to RM60 per litre.
For tobacco products, there were price hikes of between 1% and 4% after the Sales and Service Tax was imposed in September 2018.
Presently, tobacco taxes in Malaysia are 58.6% of retail prices.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when announcing the 13th Malaysia Plan in July, said pro-health taxes will be expanded from sugar to cover tobacco, vape and alcohol products to curb the increase in NCD cases.
According to an interactive data tool, Malaysia needs to raise the average price of cigarettes by more than 80% to RM31.74 per pack to help meet its target of cutting smoking prevalence to 15%.
The tax hike could generate an additional RM2.6bil annually in revenue for the government, according to the Cost Recovery and Revenue Estimator developed by Johns Hopkins University, global health organisation Vital Strategies and the American Cancer Society.