KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 – Medical groups have demanded the reinstatement of liquid nicotine as a scheduled poison, after the Cabinet’s decision to decouple the generational end game (GEG) from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023.
The Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) condemned the Cabinet’s decision to drop provisions related to the generational tobacco and vape prohibition from the bill, saying it reflected the lack of political will for a proposed standalone tobacco control Act.
“It is just a political strategy or ploy,” MPS president Amrahi Buang told CodeBlue yesterday.
“The government has not been serious about getting this bill, right from the beginning since last year. There is no commitment to get this done even though the health aspects overcome the financial aspects.”
MPS told the government to immediately restore liquid and gel nicotine used in e-cigarettes and vaporisers into the Poisons List, since the highly addictive substance was exempted from control under the Poisons Act 1952 by Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa last March 31.
“The logical step is to control it since it is a lacuna now,” Amrahi said, referring to the gap in the law that permits the legal sale of nicotine vape products to children and teens aged below 18 after the declassification of liquid nicotine.
CodeBlue reported yesterday that Cabinet has decided to drop GEG provisions from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill, due to Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh’s advice that the generational tobacco and vape prohibition is unconstitutional.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) reportedly believes that the GEG – which seeks to ban conventional and electronic cigarettes for anyone born from 2007 throughout their lifetime – contravenes Article 8 of the Federal Constitution that guarantees equality before the law.
As such, the tobacco and vape control bill may only be tabled in the next Dewan Rakyat meeting in 2024, rather than during the current meeting that ends in three weeks on November 30.
The Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill was tabled for first reading last June and has yet to be tabled for second reading for debate. With the decoupling of the GEG, it’s unclear if the bill – which has always been branded by the Ministry of Health (MOH) as a “GEG bill” – will have to be tabled all over again as a completely new bill for first reading.
Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, a neuropharmacologist who is also International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) rector, similarly slammed the Cabinet’s move to decouple the GEG from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill.
“More uncertainties and more toxic exposure to those below 18 years. This is unacceptable under any circumstances, especially after so many unreliable promises,” Dzulkifli told CodeBlue.
“The right thing to do is to go back to the status quo prior to April 1, that is to relist [liquid] nicotine immediately, ensuring that health wellbeing remains uncompromised!”
MCTC: Why Did AGC ‘Suddenly’ Decide Bill Is Unconstitutional?
The Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control (MCTC), a coalition of anti-tobacco groups, questioned the AGC’s “sudden” stance that views the tobacco bill as unconstitutional.
Both versions of the bill – the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022 (under Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government) and the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 (under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration) – contain the GEG.
“We find it really odd that the AG – keeping in mind that these are institutions and not merely individuals – can, as a whole, suddenly now decide that this bill is unconstitutional,” MCTC chairman Dr M. Murallitharan told CodeBlue.
“Remember, it went through multiple rounds of being crafted by the AGC — let’s not forget that it’s the AGC that drafts bills in the first place, not medical personnel in the MOH.
“So how come a bill drafted by them and already read in Parliament is now suddenly being labelled as unconstitutional? Someone in the AGC has to take the blame for this blunder – if this is indeed a blunder – or is this now a case where there has been some subversion? These are questions that the AGC has to be transparent in answering now when they throw such a huge spanner into the works.”
Ahmad Terrirudin was appointed Attorney-General last September 6, replacing Idrus Harun.
“Of course, the recall of the bill and its extensive restructuring in whatever form it may be in may take months, if not years,” Dr Murallitharan said.
“This is a huge win for the industry that continues to reap all the benefits from the lack of legislation and controls. Nicotine also will remain unregulated, and perhaps now with no end in sight in terms of tabling a bill, the government can relook at reinstating controls back on this product in order to retain some control.”
He added that MCTC does not support the GEG decoupling from the tobacco and vape control bill, describing the generational ban as a “strategic” process to reduce the prevalence of smokers and e-cigarette users.
“Unfortunately, this seems to be the latest in a long series of strategies aimed at weakening any and all tobacco control initiatives. It’s obvious now to everyone how much the Ministry of Health has been steamrolled by other players in their effort to drive this meaningful bill forward.”
Commonwealth Medical Association: If GEG Needs Constitutional Changes, Just Do It
Like MCTC, the Commonwealth Medical Association (CMA) opposed the Cabinet’s decision to decouple the GEG from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill.
“To protect the younger generation, GEG should be implemented. If it needs constitutional changes, PMX must convince his two-thirds [of MPs] to support it,” CMA president Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai told CodeBlue.
“We are talking about our children and grandchildren’s health. There must be a political will by the Reformist government to do the right thing. The bill getting passed next year will totally depend on how PMX will convince his Cabinet.”
CMA also told the government to immediately reinstate liquid nicotine into the Poisons List to protect people, especially youths.
“There is no regulation now on nicotine. Evali, a lung injury due to electronic cigarettes and vape, will cause lots of suffering for the patient. It requires long-term hospitalisation and imposes a very high cost for the government.
“We already have deaths from Evali. We have to stop this now, immediately. Since there is no regulation, minors in schools are also vaping. The vape juice content is unknown to most smokers.”
Galen Centre: Don’t Wait for More Cases of Lung Injury, Disabilities, Deaths Before Regulating Vape
The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy also urged the government to immediately place liquid and gel nicotine used for the production of e-cigarettes and vape back into the Poisons List, amid the continued absence of legislation.
Tobacco control regulations under the Food Act 1983 do not cover e-cigarettes and vapes.
“The government has a moral duty to get this done,” Galen Centre chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib told CodeBlue.
“The health minister’s previous statement declaring that there was no problem removing those types of nicotine from the Poisons Act, demonstrates a possible lack of basic understanding of what impact and how that decision has had on the access and availability of nicotine vape and e-cigarettes to children and young people, and the real likelihood of harm and injury.
“We shouldn’t wait for more incidences of lung injury, disabilities, and fatalities due to vape and e-cigarettes among this group of vulnerable individuals before deciding to regulate this product. Vape narcotics, involving marijuana and ketamine are already being found in products accessible to children.
“How many 16-year-old girls need to lose their lives or be disabled before people are convinced that strict regulations and legislation are needed today?”
Last January, Azrul called for the decoupling of the GEG from the tobacco and vape control bill to ensure passage, pointing out that the proposed generational prohibition was unpalatable to MPs and would have to be a “fight for another day”.
“However, we urgently need the rest of the provisions contained in the bill, including regulating vape.”
Reinstating liquid and gel nicotine into the Poisons List will likely mean the suspension of the collection of excise duty on e-liquids with nicotine that began last April 1, following the exemption of the substance from the Poisons Act.
