Alternative tobacco and nicotine products in Malaysia

Malaysia: Caretaker minister of health Khairy Jamaluddin said today that if the National Front (Barisan Nasional) wins the upcoming general election, to be held on 19th November, and he is reappointed to the post, he will reintroduce the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill 2022, popularly known as the Generational End Game Bill, press reports. He added that if the Alliance of Hope, currently the largest opposition group, wins the election, former health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad will also ensure that the bill is tabled. Dzulkefly was a member of the parliamentary committee reviewing the bill, which proposes a ban on the sale of tobacco products based on the potential purchaser’s birthdate. An analysis of the impact of the Malaysian elections on the sector is available in our Policy Radar.

Malaysia: A parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) tabled a statement in parliament today on the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill 2022, agreeing that the proposed Generational Endgame ban on the sale of tobacco products is constitutional, and that a separate regulation for non-combustible alternatives is not required. Among proposed amendments, the PSSC has agreed to drop the provision banning the possession of vaping products. The likelihood of the bill passing remains unclear, due to reported speculation that Parliament will be dissolved soon to make way for general elections.

Malaysia: Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has said he expects to finalise the review of the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill 2022 next week with the parliamentary special select committee in order to table it again in the upcoming parliamentary session, which starts on 3rd October, press reports. Khairy said MPs were generally in favour of the bill, which proposes a ban on tobacco products for those born on or after 1st January 2007, and that most of the issues raised during the bill’s first reading had been resolved by the committee.

Malaysia: Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has told reporters that the details of the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill are to be discussed this week by a bipartisan special select committee, which he will chair. Jamaluddin has already accepted recommendations by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Women, Children and Social Development, including dropping punishment for possession of tobacco products by anyone born after 2007, although their use will remain punishable. The bill has sparked heated debate among MPs and others, despite reported calls by the King of Malaysia to support it.

Malaysia: The Bipartisan Parliamentary Committee on Health, Science and Innovation has recommended that the proposed generational ban on purchase of tobacco products should be delayed for three years, and that it should start with those born after 2008, rather than 2007, press reports. The committee wants a three-year evaluation period to assess the government’s preparedness to implement the ban and to assess the need for separate regulation of smokeless products, such as heated and oral tobacco, which it said have “harm reduction” characteristics compared to combustible tobacco.

Malaysia: A much-discussed bill to ban the sale of tobacco products to people born in or after 2007 was tabled in Parliament today. The bill does not mention nicotine but defines a “smoking device” as “any electronic device or a battery-operated device or other device, which is used to heat, vaporise, or burn a tobacco product, smoking substance, or substitute tobacco product for smoking”. A tobacco product is defined as “processed tobacco or any product containing tobacco designed for human consumption”, which includes heated tobacco but leaves nicotine pouches unaddressed. The bill equates the use of heated tobacco with smoking, and proposes penalties for the purchase, possession and use of tobacco products by anyone born after 1st January 2007.