While the ban would only be fully enforced from April 2025, the federation’s president, Hong Chee Meng, said this was still too soon a deadline to meet, particularly for smaller retailers.

Hong said the health ministry did not consult retailers before deciding to impose the display ban, describing the move as rushed and drastic.

He said smaller operators would face challenges to meet the new requirements given that they would have to reconfigure their product shelves, which he said would incur substantial costs upfront.

“Each store will have to invest significant resources into making physical modifications to hide these products from customers, but the government has not offered financial assistance or a phased rollout,” he said in a statement..

“Retailers deserve to know how to comply, and deserve ample time and support to implement these changes. Right now, the government is asking us to comply in such a short time and bear the cost without any help.

“(Our federation) is calling on the health ministry to delay the enforcement of the retail display ban until proper guidelines and financial support mechanisms are introduced.”

Hong said the federation estimated that each store would have to spend up to RM6,000 to comply with the ban, adding that this was a high amount for small, family-run businesses.

The long-awaited Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 was gazetted on Feb 2, but its enforcement only began this month after being delayed several times.

The health ministry has said there would be no grace period for new provisions on the sale or distribution of tobacco products and electronic cigarettes to minors.

However, it said it will employ “educational enforcement” for the registration and display of smoking products until March 31.