Prioritise youth health over profits

AS Malaysian youths, we share a deep aspiration for our nation to be a regional leader in safeguarding public health and ending nicotine addiction.

There was a time when Malaysia stood at the forefront of bold tobacco control with the introduction of the Generational Endgame (GEG) policy, which aimed to prevent Malaysians born after Jan 1, 2007 from ever becoming addicted to nicotine.

However, we were left disappointed when the GEG provisions were excluded from the revised Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852).

As young people who viewed the policy as a historic step forward, we continue to seek a clearer explanation as to why it was dropped.

Now, we are confronted with the consequences of this decision as we see the normalisation of vape culture among our peers and the continued targeting of youths through fruity flavours, colourful packaging and digital advertising.

Eight of the 11 Asean member countries have banned electronic smoking devices (ESDs) and nicotine products, but Malaysia’s Federal Government has yet to set a definite date on implementing a nationwide ban even though it is scheduled for this year.

Many youths and public health advocates were alarmed by the removal of liquid nicotine from the Poisons List in 2023 before comprehensive legislation was fully enforced. This created a regulatory gap where vape products became far more accessible and were widely sold until Act 852 was eventually gazetted.

Recent court findings have further strengthened public concern over the long-term impact this period has had on young people. There are increasing reports of vape-related harm among teenagers, alongside cases involving the misuse of vape devices for dangerous substances such as synthetic drugs and, more recently, fentanyl-laced liquids.

These developments are deeply alarming to youths who feel that stronger preventive action could have reduced the scale of exposure we are now seeing.

We acknowledge the ongoing efforts by the Health Ministry and policymakers through the enforcement of Act 852 and other tobacco control measures.

However, while Act 852 has finally prohibited blatant online sales and vending machines, the damage to our health landscape is already visible with national medical experts projecting that treating vaping-related lung illnesses like Evali (E-cigarette or Vaping Use-Associated Lung Injury) will cost the government an estimated RM223.5mil annually.

To achieve a breakthrough, policymakers must consciously reject the industry-funded narrative of “tobacco harm reduction”.

The assertion that e-cigarettes and nicotine products serve as a benign cessation tool is systematically contradicted not only by significant and continually growing scientific evidence but also by reality on the ground, where vibrant, candy-flavoured disposables are clearly engineered to recruit new, non-smoking youths into lifelong nicotine dependency.

The greatest obstacle to a nicotine-free Malaysia remains the sophisticated level of industry interference within our legislative frameworks.

The quiet, calculated removal of the GEG provisions from Act 852 serves as a stark reminder of how commercial lobbying can actively disrupt public health goals.

This overt interference directly undermines Malaysia’s binding international commitments under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Securing a healthy future for all Malaysians demands immediate, unyielding policy measures, including enacting a total ban on the importation, manufacture, distribution, sale, possession and use of all electronic smoking devices and non-medicinal nicotine products; intensifying crackdowns on the illicit digital supply chains and distribution networks; and implementing robust institutional firewalls to bar the tobacco and nicotine industry from interfering and influencing public health policy forums.

At its core should be the restoration and strengthening of the GEG framework.

SYARAH ISMAHANI

NURUL ADILAH MUHAMMED RIZAKI and AINA MUNIRAH ABDUL LATIF

Malaysian youth ambassadors

Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (Seatca)