Tobacco Asia

Tobacco Asia 81 said Khairy in a new year message to the ministry of health. "…this allocation will enable smoking to be phased out in stag- es until one day in future, Malaysia will be a smoke-free country." Khairy tabled his bill in parliament just one day after New Zealand's bill had its first reading. However, Khairy's pro- posed bill took it one level higher than New Zealand's as it will also regulate e- cigarettes and vapes. And, in addition to banning the sale of cigarettes, tobacco, and vape products to those born after January 1, 2007 (a change from Khairy's original plan for a generational endgame for those born after 2005, to allow for an implementation, community education, and enforcement plan), the bill would also ban the smoking and possession of tobacco products by those people. New Zealand's bill, in comparison, stops at the prohibition of the sale of tobacco prod- ucts, not the possession of said products. A parliamentary special select com- mittee on health, science, and innovation recommended that the implementation of the bill be delayed by three years un- til an enforcement framework approved by parliament can be established. The committee also recommended that the generational ban should only apply to those born after 2008 and not 2007 as proposed in the bill. In addition, the committee called for the government to amend the bill by including a mandatory evaluation clause to enable two mandatory evaluations. The first mandatory evaluation would be conducted over three years to review the government's readiness to fully execute the generational ban as well as the success of bill. It would also determine whether separate laws and regulations are necessary for combustible and non-combustible tobacco products as well as vapes. The second mandatory evaluation will be conducted over 10 years and will review compliance and the effectiveness of the law as well as adding new provisions based on emerging sci- ence as necessary. Another key component of Malaysia's proposed bill is the wide-ranging enforce- ment power granted to officials who would be able to enter any premise, including residential accommodation; open and check one's bags and packages; stop, search, and seize vehicles; turn on computers to access information; and even to search and seize without a warrant, including body searches. New Zealand's bill, on the other hand, only authorizes officers to enter and search non-residential premises, and even then, would need to do so with a warrant. "The power to inspect, possibly body check and punish a child for possession must be heavily controlled to prevent abuse," stated Dr. Kelvin Yii, chairman of the parliamentary special committee. "That is why the guidelines for enforcement must be very clear and specific on this to ensure the vulnerable are not victimized by the law, especially the poor." The committee also "strongly" recommended that punishment for youth found to be in breach of the law not be incarceration, nor should it be recorded in a system. Rather, the penalty should be community service, mandatory counseling sessions, and "reasonable" fines for first-time offenders. Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, opposition MP and president of the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), Malaysia's first youth-based party representing the very population group that would be most affected by the new law, expressed con- cern that the bill would harm retailers' sales, impinge on individual liberties, set off a chain reaction that would result in the outlawing of other goods like alcoholic and sug- ar-sweetened beverages, increase illegal trade, and harm consumers' personal freedom. A study by Datametrics Research and Information Research Centre (DARE) and The Green Zebra, its market research partner, found that 83% of Malaysians believe illicit cigarette trade will skyrocket once the generational ban on selling cigarettes to those born after 2005 comes into effect. Interestingly, two-thirds of the survey respon- dents reported that vaping helped them quit smoking entirely or reduce their smoking. JT International Bhd general manager, Khoo Bee Leng, said the proposed bill is pointless if the government cannot enforce existing laws to prevent youth from smok- ing. "This bill will not meet its objective. Instead, it's going to keep pushing consumers to the black market," she said. "The tobacco industry is not the right market to start with this regulation unless enforcement can be guaranteed." British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT Malaysia) managing director, Nedal Salem, also believes the ban will fuel Malaysia's illicit tobacco market and will have negative consequences to public health. "[The proposed ban] has never been tested in the real world, lacks any scientific evidence of effectiveness and is likely to be detrimental to our country's health agenda," said Salem. "Fueling the illicit tobacco market doesn't just line the pockets of criminals. It will have a significant impact on Malaysia's economy, already struggling to recover from the global pandemic. Industry, jobs, and growth will be impacted, and government revenue will fall significantly." Health minister Khairy, however, believes that the ban will have little effect on the country's economy. In a press interview prior to a parliament debate over the bill, Khairy said the tobacco industry contributes only 0.18% of Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP). "This means that only a small number of people are involved in the cigarette industry," he said, adding that the loss of productivity from cigarette smoking had a greater impact on the economy. According to Khairy, the ban would not cause an immediate impact on the econ- omy as it will be enforced in stages. "The total cigarette market will gradually shrink, starting with those born in 2007, 2008, 2009 and so on…it will take a long time before the market shrinks, (maybe) 20 to 30 years," he said. "Every year more (individuals) can- not smoke, but those who are already smoking will continue to buy cigarette products." It remains to be seen who will be the first country to officially launch a genera- tional tobacco endgame. Malaysia's proposed ban will extend beyond cigarettes to include vapes as well.

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