George Town earns Silver at ASEAN Smoke-Free Awards for robust tobacco controls
George Town in Penang was awarded the Silver Award at the second ASEAN Smoke-free Awards for its strong enforcement of smoke-free policies.
During the launch of the 17th ASEAN Health Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, George Town, Penang, was presented with the Silver Award at the second ASEAN Smoke-free Awards, recognizing its successful implementation of smoke-free regulations. The ceremony, coordinated by the Laotian government’s ASEAN Health Cluster 1 in partnership with the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance and the ASEAN Secretariat, also granted Gold to Baguio City, Philippines, and Bronze to municipalities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand, while Singapore received a special recognition certificate.
SEATCA executive director Dr Ulysses Dorotheo said the honors show that rigorous, well-enforced smoke-free measures are both feasible and essential to curb the tobacco epidemic. He added that SEATCA will keep supporting the awarded cities and hopes other regional governments will follow their example. The Laotian Health Ministry noted the awards reflect ASEAN’s commitment to turning high-level pledges into real health protections, building on the “Towards a Smoke-free ASEAN” campaign launched in 2012.
