Support generational endgame tobacco Bill to increase Malaysians’ oral health

MUCH has been said on the GEG (generational endgame) Control of Tobacco Products and Smoking Bill 2022, now put on hold and to be tabled in Parliament again in October 2022. The dental and oral health fraternity would like to add to the voices calling for the Bill's passage and urge members of Parliament to support the GEG Bill. We comprise the Malaysian Association of Dental Public Health Specialists, Malaysian Dental Association, Malaysian Dental Dean Council, Malaysian Association of Paediatric Dentistry, Malaysian Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Malaysia Association for Orofacial Diseases, Malaysian Society of Periodontology, Malaysian Endodontic Society and NGO entities, the Alliance For Cavity Free Future Malaysia Chapter and the Oral Cancer Research and Coordinating Centre.

Smoking ravages one of the most important organs in humankind: the mouth, the port of entry of practically every single action for human survival. The mouth is also a hodge lodge of all kinds of diseases, medical and dental. It is naturally crowded with not less than 700 bacterial species of all kinds and shapes – billions of each species – every second of the day. At least 37 species have been identified as being directly involved with the consequences of poor oral health and manifestation of general health and chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, cancers and several others.