Year: 2009

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) and other concerned groups have protested the Health Ministry’s move to allow healthcare services to be promoted in order to boost the tourism industry. Finally, some medical professionals are coming out publicly in opposition of medical or health tourism. At the Health Systems in Transition workshop, health experts have warned that the overall quality of...

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) welcomes the news that the Penang state government is going to beef up enforcement on smokers in public places - beginning with civil servants in government departments and agencies. The state government is also planning to extend the areas where smoking is prohibited, including Penang’s most popular recreation areas such as the Botanical Gardens, the...

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) welcomes the news that the graphic warnings placed on cigarette packs and in local dailies are working - especially if these shocking pictures are deterring youngsters from taking up the smoking habit. The magnitude the smoking epidemic in Malaysia cannot be downplayed.  More than 50% of Malaysian adult males are smokers. About 50 Malaysian children below...

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is disturbed that a second person has lost her life at a beauty salon in the space of just a few months. Puan Noraini Ghazali died following a botched liposuction procedure - apparently as a result of an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic that was administered to her. The Director-General of Health, Tan Sri Dr. Ismail Merican, was quoted saying that...

A recent report of a life-threatening heart attack in a young healthy male suggests care is needed with caffeinated energy drinks. Caffeinated energy drinks are widely promoted to give people the buzz and lift needed to get through a tough day. One such tough day became even more “arresting” for a healthy 28-year-old male. As reported in the Medical Journal of Australia (2009;190:41-43), a...

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) welcomes the recent Government move to take out full-page colour advertisements in the press warning the public of the serious consequences of smoking. Among others, these advertisements include a graphic picture of one of the deadly results - lung cancer - and warns the public that smoking does not pay, and not to be fooled by tobacco companies. However,...