KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 – Batu Pahat MP Onn Abu Bakar is pushing for the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 to be tabled for its second reading soon.
The PKR lawmaker said he is concerned about the heavy costs of smoking-related diseases and the alarming data presented by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
“The data MOH presented is shocking. We must press the emergency button and we cannot look back,” Onn said during his debate on the 2024 Budget yesterday.
On October 9, the MOH confirmed the postponement of the tobacco and vape control bill, which was originally scheduled for its second reading on that day.
Despite the pressing need for the bill, given Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa’s decision to exempt liquid nicotine from the Poisons Act 1952 last March 31, the MOH justified the delay by citing the need to address “other government business” in Parliament.
Onn said the government is forced to allocate an estimate of over RM8 billion to treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) caused by smoking complications, such as chronic lung disease, lung cancer, and heart disease.
He also referenced a Berita Harian news report from June, which revealed that the MOH had documented 17 cases of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), which is a lung disease that can develop due to vaping.
Health director-general Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan was quoted as saying that the liquid in electronic cigarettes or vape, when heated, produces chemicals that can lead to lung inflammation and cause EVALI.
“The data provided by the health ministry should open our eyes to the fact that anything called a cigarette, whether it’s traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, or vaping, is clearly unsafe because it brings harm and adverse effects to the health of those who smoke and those around them,” Onn said.
Onn proceeded to recite a pantun, or a traditional Malay poem, delivering a clear message for people to quit smoking before their lives “slip away”.
Waktu pagi ayam berkokok,
Menandakan hari hendak siang,
Elok berhenti menghisap rokok,
Sebelum nyawa anda melayang.
Diabetes Biggest Contributor To Work Absenteeism
The first-term MP also asked if the government plans to continue offering subsidies for sugar, given the country’s glaring statistics on diabetes and expenses to manage diabetes in the population.
According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019, one in five Malaysians aged 18 and above currently has stage two diabetes, and this figure is expected to rise to one in three adults, or 31 per cent, by 2025.
Onn said that the health ministry spent nearly RM2 billion on diabetes management in 2010, a figure that escalated to RM3.2 billion in 2019.
He also cited a report by the MOH and the World Health Organization (WHO) titled “The Impact of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Their Risk Factors on Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product”, which estimated that productivity loss due to NCD-related deaths to be about RM1 billion.
The report states that diabetes accounts for the most significant share of absenteeism, with 7.9 million working days lost, which is equivalent to a monetary loss of about RM1.35 billion.
“Diabetes places a severe health burden on the nation due to disability and loss of healthy years,” Onn said. The MOH and WHO report showed that annual direct health care costs from diabetes in Malaysia totalled to about RM4.4 billion, 227 per cent higher than cancer (RM1.3 billion) and 11 per cent higher than cardiovascular disease (RM3.9 billion).
“Currently, an estimated 3.9 million Malaysians are living with diabetes. This figure is deeply concerning, and if not addressed within a robust health care intervention framework, it could disrupt the Madani government’s efforts in building a sustainable economy,” Onn said.
Onn highlighted a major concern regarding undiagnosed cases, particularly among individuals under the age of 50, which includes those in their 20s to 40s. If unaddressed, the situation could have serious implications for the country, as undiagnosed diabetes represents a high-risk group, Onn warned.
“Therefore, what steps will the government take? Will it reduce sugar subsidies, or will it maintain the current policy?”
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, during the tabling of Budget 2024, announced a tax increase on sugar-sweetened beverages as part of the government’s strategy to mitigate health risks.
It was announced that the current excise duty rate on sugar-sweetened beverages is set to rise from 40 sen to 50 sen per litre.
