Malaysia Introduces "Best" Tobacco Control Legislation in History

The Malaysia Tobacco Control Committee (MCTC) has described the 2022 Tobacco Products and Smoking Control Act as the "best" legislation in the history of tobacco control since Malaysia became a signatory of the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005.

Yesterday, a tobacco control advocate in Kuralongpur urged all candidates running for the 15th election to the Legislative Office to support a generational smoking ban.

The Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control (MCTC) and its 38 affiliated organizations, the Malaysian Youth Council and its 41 affiliated organizations, and 128 other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) emphasized that the smoking rate in the country has slowly decreased to 21.3% in 2019.

The chairman of the Malaysian Tobacco Control Council, Dr. Muralitharan Munisamy, issued a statement yesterday urging all future leaders who will be elected by the people in the upcoming 15th general or state elections to pay more attention to smoking issues.

The "2022 Tobacco Products and Smoking Control Act" is a proposed federal law that was passed by Congress before it dissolved last Monday. The law aims to put an end to smoking by creating a game-ending generation (GEG) by banning the sale and use of tobacco or tobacco products for anyone born in 2007.

Dr. Murallitharan stated, "We urge for the immediate approval of the bill in the interest of the Malaysian people. The bill has been revised under an agreement by 13 former members of parliament who represent all political parties under the Special Select Committee (PSSC) established prior to the dissolution of parliament.

Dr. Murallitharan Munisamy, Executive Council Member of the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, provided the accompanying image. Despite being led by former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, the PSSC tobacco bill submitted a report last Wednesday recommending revisions to the Tobacco Control and Smoking Act. However, Khairy failed to present the revised bill for debate in Dewan Rakyat the following day.

Instead, last Thursday, the House of Commons passed three bills related to transportation to regulate third-party delivery services that transport food, drinks, and packages via motorcycles.

This means that the Tobacco Products and Smoking Control Act is still the same version that was first deliberated in the Dewan Rakyat on July 27 last year. The bill has sparked serious concerns among 14th Parliamentary members, civil rights activists, and lawyers regarding issues of excessive law enforcement power and laws related to personal freedom, as well as the economic impact of a generation-long smoking ban.

The Tobacco Bill of the 14th Parliament has been agreed upon by the PSSC. The ban on smoking or consuming tobacco products for those born after January 1st, 2007 will remain in place. However, penalties for the GEG group holding tobacco or consuming tobacco products will be preserved.

The PSSC has agreed to reduce the maximum fine for GEG violators from 5,000 Malaysian Ringgit to 500 Malaysian Ringgit and may offer community service. Additionally, they will limit their enforcement powers to tobacco product manufacturing, packaging, storage, delivery, distribution, and sales.

According to reports, Khairy stated yesterday that he will continue to advocate for the new government to support GEG, whether as a member of parliament or regular citizen. However, the current Rembau MP from UMNO did not specify whether Barisan Nasional will include GEG in their election manifesto for the 15th general election.

Dr. Murallitharan warns future leaders not to delay tobacco control measures as he believes that the delay will lead to an increase in the usage of electronic cigarettes or vapes among children and adolescents.

Imagine if this law fails to impose restrictions on sales, particularly online sales, and ban advertisements for cigarettes and tobacco products. How many more children, adolescents, and young adults will be susceptible to this issue?

According to the Ministry of Health, 27,000 Malaysians die every year due to smoking. The National Health and Morbidity Survey found that the national smoking rate for Malaysians aged 15 and above has only decreased by 1.5 percentage points, from 22.8% in 2015 to 21.3% in 2019.

Meanwhile, the issue of smoking e-cigarettes or vaping is causing growing concern. The number of adult users in Malaysia has risen from 3.2% in 2016 to 4.9% in 2019. According to Dr. Murallitharan, "If we calculate based on the total population, the number of e-cigarette users in Malaysia has doubled from 600,000 to 1.2 million.

The MCTC expressed its belief that future elected officials will not allow individuals to continue engaging in risky behavior that puts their lives in danger, particularly the use of e-cigarettes which have been proven to cause EVALI disease.

The use of e-cigarettes has been linked to serious lung damage, where substances in e-cigarettes and vacuum dust products can harm the lungs. American researchers have linked Vitamin E acetate (a synthetic form of Vitamin E) to EVALI. Vitamin E acetate is present in some THC-containing vaping products.

Anti-tobacco activists have discovered that since Malaysia became a signatory to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on December 15, 2005, the bill for controlling tobacco products and smoking drafted by the Ministry of Health and the Attorney General's Chambers is considered the "best" legislation in the country's history of tobacco control.

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