A golden opportunity snuffed out

MALAYSIA may have just missed a chance to become one of the first countries to eradicate smoking among the future generation of Malaysians.

Instead, the anti-smoking Bill was retracted, and as predicted recently, a new watered-down version was tabled and passed in the Dewan Rakyat.

That left the health fraternity and advocates of the generational endgame or GEG utterly disappointed.

The GEG, after all, was the most important part of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health 2023 Bill. It banned the sale of cigarettes or any tobacco-related items to those born on Jan 1, 2007, and after.

However, the provision was left out over what the government said were fears of it being unconstitutional.

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said after tabling the new Bill that the GEG is not entirely forgotten, and if there is a need, the government will look into bringing it back.

The question is: if the provision could be unconstitutional, why was it part of the two earlier versions of the Bill, which were tabled in June this year and last year?

Wouldn’t it still remain unconstitutional if revisited in the future?

The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has said the GEG contradicts Article 8 of the Federal Constitution as “it creates unequal legal treatment between a person born before Jan 1, 2007, and a person born on and after Jan 1, 2007”.

Article 8 says: “All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.”In his Keluar Sekejap podcast, Khairy Jamaluddin, the chief architect of the Bill when he was health minister, rebutted the AGC’s statement by reading the transcript from the Hansard of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee’s proceedings on the Control of Tobacco Products and Smoking Bill 2022 held on Aug 19 last year.

According to an excerpt from the Hansard, an AGC officer, who also advises the Health Ministry, had drawn the following conclusion.

“In conclusion, members of this meeting, the proposed provision to prohibit individuals born on Jan 1, 2007, and onwards from purchasing and smoking tobacco products and tobacco substitute products does not violate one’s right to life, what more personal liberty, which is guaranteed under Article 5(1) of the Federal Constitution, or the right to equality under the Constitution.”

Although the new Bill has now been passed, more questions have arisen as to why the provision was included and eventually excluded. Talk of a tobacco industry lobby working behind the scenes has also refused to die down.

The government, meanwhile, has yet to properly address all this.

A clear denial, or even admission, from the government is needed to put an end to such talk.

Dr Zaliha, meanwhile, has insisted that constitutionality was the only reason why the provision was removed.

If the provision had come into effect, Malaysia would have become one of the first – if not the first – nations to eliminate smoking among an entire generation.

New Zealand has recently scrapped the new law following a change in government.

Had the GEG become a reality, it would have lowered the incidence of lung cancer or other smoking-related illnesses.

It would have not only reduced the disease burden in the country but also saved the government billions of ringgit spent on treating smoking-related illnesses.

Nevertheless, credit must be given to the Health Ministry for putting in provisions to regulate the vape industry to prevent underage smoking.

Although this is a remedy to address the regulatory loophole following the delisting of nicotine gel from the Poisons Act 1952 earlier this year, it was timely given the vaping trend among schoolgoers seems to be getting out of hand.

The proposed law prohibits minors under the age of 18 from smoking, chewing or using any tobacco products or substitute tobacco products. It also further prohibits the sale of such products and the provision of any services related to smoking to a minor.

Flouting these would be a punishable offence.

In a briefing with the media after the tabling of the Bill, the ministry also showed pressmen the various smoking products beyond just cigarettes and vapes that would be regulated.

It was also an eye-opener of sorts on smoking products and alternatives to cigarettes and vapes that are available on the market.

It is understood that the packaging of these smoking devices will also be regulated to ensure plain packaging so that it is not made appealing to children and teenagers.

The growing trend of vaping among minors is extremely worrying, given the lack of clarity on the contents of vape juices.

Enforcement officers will also be fitted with body cameras to nab those flouting the law.

While GEG has now gone up in smoke, it is time to instead focus on the battle to eradicate underage smoking. Having a law alone will not do the trick, what is needed is stringent enforcement.

Beyond just authorities, it also starts at home and schools, where parents and teachers have a role to play.

Children and teenagers themselves have to be taught to exercise self-restraint against smoking and to resist temptation.

The habit is devoid of benefits and only has many ills.

As they keep saying, smoking is injurious to health.

It is not worth putting one’s health – and that of others – at risk for a habit that brings no benefit.