Malaysian Tobacco Control Committee Urges Action on Nicotine Addiction

On April 8th, according to a report from the New Straits Times, Dr. Murallitharan Munisamy, the chairman of the Malaysian Tobacco Control Committee (MCTC), urged the government to take action to control the country's nicotine addiction problem. He believes that the government should implement short-term, medium-term, and long-term measures to safeguard public health and called for the government to speed up the enactment of tobacco product and smoking control legislation.

Protecting the health of children and young people.

This call is a response to the recent amendment of the 1952 Poisons Act, which legalized products containing nicotine and overturned the decision of the Poisons Board.

Dr. Murallitharan Munisamy, President of MCTC, has outlined in a statement released today the short-term, medium-term, and long-term measures that should be taken to ensure the health of Malaysians.

Dr. Murallitharan Munisamy | Image Courtesy: Code Blue

The committee has called on the government to swiftly take action to protect the health of Malaysians, particularly children and youth, by limiting their exposure to nicotine in e-cigarette devices.

He stated that "due to the lack of significant health legislation to curb the harm of nicotine, it is possible to limit (children and adolescents') exposure to nicotine in e-cigarette devices through collaboration with other organizations and departments.

Call for the government to accelerate legislation for electronic cigarette regulation.

He is calling on the government to expedite the development of tobacco product and smoking control legislation, which includes comprehensive measures against electronic cigarettes and the prohibition of use by individuals under the age of 18.

The Prime Minister Anwar has pledged that this will be completed in the next parliamentary session scheduled for May, and we urge the government to adhere to this timeline," he said.

He added that the government needs to implement a comprehensive strategy through the Ministry of Health and other agencies to curb and control nicotine addiction.

It is reported that the former Malaysian Health Minister previously stated in a meeting that she implemented the amendment to the Poison Act with a "heavy heart", citing "economic considerations" as the reason behind the decision.

He believes that human life is priceless and he also emphasizes that other government agencies are unprepared when it comes to taxing e-cigarette products.

Although the government hastily decided to implement a nicotine tax by April 1st, other government agencies are not yet prepared to collect the proposed taxes.

Related Reading:

The electronic cigarette regulation bill in Malaysia will be submitted to Parliament in May.

There may be an increase in market share for Vuse due to electronic cigarette regulations in Malaysia.

Malaysia imposes a consumption tax of RM 0.4 per milliliter on e-cigarettes, manufacturers are required to register before April 30th.

References:

The Metropolitan College of Technical and Creative Arts (MCTC) is calling for urgent government intervention to address the issue of nicotine addiction.