Health-centric focus on the agenda

It is hoped that both the GEG Bill and Health White Paper will see the light of day

THIS week is expected to be health-centric in the august House as two important agendas – the controversial Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill, dubbed the Generational End Game (GEG), and the much-awaited Health White Paper – are part of the Dewan Rakyat’s order of business. The revised GEG Bill, which was snuffed out in the previous meeting, will be tabled today.

The Bill retains the revisions made to the original draft and the recommendations given by the Special Parliamentary Select Committee (PSSC).

The Bill seeks to regulate the sale and consumption of cigarettes and other smoking products among those born in 2007 and later. According to the Health Ministry’s recent briefing on GEG in Parliament, elements such as community service instead of jail term and reduction of the standard fine from RM5,000 to RM500 will be maintained.

The ministry’s aim is to focus on enforcement instead of penalising the offenders. It is taking on a non-punitive approach in implementing the law and no body checks for possession of smoking products will be permitted.

This Bill would also restrict enforcement to the sale, purchase and use of smoking products. The possession aspect has been dropped.

Sale and use of conventional tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, loose tobacco and rolled cigarettes will be prohibited for the GEG generation once the Bill is passed.

As for non-conventional smoking products which use heating devices such as liquid nicotine or vape, the enforcement will be made on a later date.

During the briefing, Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said engagement sessions on the Bill were also held with industry players and they would give their commitment once it becomes law.

Health experts and rights groups have not budged from their stance to pressure the government to see through the implementation of the Bill.

However, some industry players are not in favour due to it being harmful to business.

One may even argue that this will infringe the liberties of those aged above 18 as they have the right to make their own choices. While that is a valid argument, the figures paint a grim picture.

According to the ministry, GEG could curb smoking habits and save some 2.07 million lives. If the government does not go ahead with this Bill, it may have to spend some RM8.77bil to treat complications from conventional smoking products and RM369mil from electronic cigarettes by 2030.

The ministry was estimated to have spent some RM9.65bil to treat three non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer and heart diseases in 2017.

This did not take into consideration the estimated loss of productivity to the nation, amounting to RM12.88bil.

On that note, complications from smoking will be an unwanted cost on top of the already high NCD burden that the country is already facing. Besides that, smoking also comes with a host of health problems.

The Bill today will also serve as a litmus test for the support of MPs, as it saw resistance the first time around.

Back in August last year, then Opposition chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and others such as Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz had proposed for the Bill, then known as Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill, to be referred to a PSSC for further deliberation before being brought back to the House. Fast forward to the present, the Bill had received the nod from the Cabinet last month.

Now, it remains to be seen whether it will be passed with majority support by the Lower House.

It also appears that some lawmakers are still on the fence on whether to vote in favour of the Bill as they were of the view that further deliberation is needed.

But the Bill has gone through several rounds of fine-tuning, so it is high time that it sees the light of day. Hopefully, this time around it will receive majority support and subsequently be gazetted.

Healthcare reforms are of paramount importance now given the various challenges surrounding the sector including manpower issues, limited resources and quality of services.

Therefore, the White Paper which will see reforms in the healthcare sector that is to be implemented in phases over a period of 15 years is a much needed answer to the woes besetting the system.

Kudos to the Health Ministry for conducting town hall sessions around the country to get feedback and suggestions from the ground.

The paper is set to address a series of problems such as funding constraints, manpower, facilities and equipment shortages, burden of diseases, ageing society, mental health issues, climate change and planet deterioration as well as the lack of emphasis on social determinants of health.

These are just among a host of challenges faced by the healthcare system.

The paper also promises high- quality services at affordable rates and acceptable waiting time, e- services, consulting the same doctor and team each time and accessing health records online, once the reforms are implemented.

It is indeed a tall order to fulfil these promises, given that the healthcare system has been under much pressure for years.

The government must ensure that the reforms in the White Paper do not only remain on paper but are implemented too.

It is also high time that the long-overdue Health Services Commission is established.