After a more than 10-year stagnant tobacco tax rate, Malaysia’s cigarette excise duties went up by only 2 sen per stick in Budget 2026. We explore the discrepancies between our tobacco taxes and the national health expenditure to treat smoking- and vaping-related diseases, and what should be a meaningful rate of tobacco tax to change smoking behaviours.


Image credit: Shutterstock

After a more than 10-year stagnant tobacco tax rate, Malaysia’s cigarette excise duties went up by only 2 sen per stick in Budget 2026. We explore the discrepancies between our tobacco taxes and the national health expenditure to treat smoking- and vaping-related diseases, and what should be a meaningful rate of tobacco tax to change smoking behaviours. Image credit: Shutterstock

Wander and be enlightened by the endlessly fascinating inner universe that is the human body. We speak with experts, Nobel laureates, cancer survivors and healthcare workers who share their unique perspectives on wellness and living and the latest medical research.

Health & Living

Public Health: Malaysia’s Cigarette And Vape Tax Story

Flash floods are so common that they seem like part and parcel of life now but with them comes the increased risk of infectious diseases. That might seem like the least of people’s worries when it floods but water- and food-borne diseases is a public health issue that needs to be addressed. So how can we empower communities to be more aware and resilient? Here to help us unpack that is Dr Rafidah Lani, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya. She also recently headed the FIRST programme which stands for Flood-resilient Initiative for Risk Reduction and Safety: Transfer of Knowledge. 



Image Credit: FIRST Programme

Flash floods are so common that they seem like part and parcel of life now but with them comes the increased risk of infectious diseases. That might seem like the least of people’s worries when it floods but water- and food-borne diseases is a public health issue that needs to be addressed. So how can we empower communities to be more aware and resilient? Here to help us unpack that is Dr Rafidah Lani, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya. She also recently headed the FIRST programme which stands for Flood-resilient Initiative for Risk Reduction and Safety: Transfer of Knowledge.&nbsp;Image Credit: FIRST Programme

Building Flood-Resilient Communities

A community screening programme has led to the alarming result that almost 9 in 10 individuals have at least two cardiovascular-renal-metabolic risk factors. On top of that, of the individuals who were overweight and pre-diabetic, more than 86% didn’t know about it, highlighting a problem with undiagnosed non-communicable diseases. The question now is: what can we do about this? Here to help us unpack this are Dr Murallitharan Munisamy, medical director of the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, and Dr Sivarajan Ramasamy, Public Health Medicine Specialist, Head of Cardiorenal Metabolic Control Sector, Ministry of Health.



Image Credit: Shutterstock

A community screening programme has led to the alarming result that almost 9 in 10 individuals have at least two cardiovascular-renal-metabolic risk factors. On top of that, of the individuals who were overweight and pre-diabetic, more than 86% didn’t know about it, highlighting a problem with undiagnosed non-communicable diseases. The question now is: what can we do about this? Here to help us unpack this are Dr Murallitharan Munisamy, medical director of the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, and Dr Sivarajan Ramasamy, Public Health Medicine Specialist, Head of Cardiorenal Metabolic Control Sector, Ministry of Health.Image Credit: Shutterstock

Are You At Risk of Cardio-Renal-Metabolic Syndrome? 

Orthopaedic surgeons have been dubbed as the ‘carpenters’ of the human body. Why is that so? And how much does that actually describe the work that they do? On this episode of Humans of Healthcare, we speak to Prof Dr Azlina Amir Abbas, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon about the job.

Orthopaedic surgeons have been dubbed as the ‘carpenters’ of the human body. Why is that so? And how much does that actually describe the work that they do? On this episode of Humans of Healthcare, we speak to Prof Dr Azlina Amir Abbas, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon about the job.

Public Health: Malaysia’s Cigarette And Vape Tax Story

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