Fuming over GEG Bill delay

PETALING JAYA: The move to refer the Bill on stubbing out smoking to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) again has been met with deep disappointment.

Calling the move surprising, many civil society groups said without a proper law in place, the legal loophole that allows minors to legally vape remains a real danger.

The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy called upon the PSSC for Health – under Kuala Selangor MP Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad – to swiftly convene a meeting and send the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 back to the Dewan Rakyat for the second and third reading and a vote before the end of this Parliamentary meeting.

Its chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib said the Health Minister’s order in March to remove liquid and gel nicotine in the production of vape and ecigarettes from the list of controlled substances under the Poisons Act 1952 to enable taxation on these products had opened a Pandora’s box.

“There is still no legal framework or regulation governing the production, packaging, marketing, sale and use of these devices,” he said in a statement yesterday.

With the Bill delayed, there are now no safeguards to prevent the sale of ecigarettes and vape products to minors, he said.

He said unregulated status of vape and ecigarettes was a public health threat.

“No more excuses. The government must be pragmatic. If we have to temporarily shelve the Generational End Game (GEG) provisions to guarantee passage of this Bill, then so be it. We need the Bill to be passed in Parliament,” he said.

Kick the habit: A no-smoking sign at a public park in Kuala Lumpur. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star

The GEG provision seek to regulate the sale, purchase and consumption of cigarettes and other smoking products for those born in 2007 and later.

The Bill, which was tabled last year by then Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, was also referred to the PSSC on Health in August 2022.

Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai said the decision to refer the Bill to PSSC for Health has raised doubts over the passing of the Bill in the current parliamentary session.

“In the best interest of public health, the Bill should proceed for debate and be voted on. Failure to do so will be seen as the government’s lack of commitment to pass the Bill,” he said.

He added that if the Bill must be delayed any further, the ministry must at least reverse its decision to exempt nicotine from the Poisons Act.

“We wish to highlight again that the removal of nicotine from the list of controlled substances under the Poisons Act allows any vape – both containing nicotine and non-nicotine – to be sold openly and legally to anyone including children of any age.

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) also said the decision was a “big disappointment”.

“This is a very important Bill which will save hundreds of thousands of lives of the future generation.

“Hundreds of schoolchildren, students and youth, including young girls, are addicted to these nicotine habits,” said its education and anti-smoking activist NV Subbarow.

He added that teachers also fear there would be more problems in schools without the new law.

He said many teachers had complained that boys and girls were bringing vape gadgets to schools daily.