KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Dzulkefly Ahmad said he will be submitting a memorandum paper on proposed regulations under the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852) to Cabinet.
The health minister said that following passage of the bill in Parliament late last year, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has prepared draft regulations and orders under Act 852 that are currently under review by its legal advisors.
“A memorandum paper from the health minister on details of the regulations under Act 852 will be presented for approval from Cabinet on a few policy matters,” Dzulkefly told Kuala Langat MP Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi in a written Dewan Rakyat reply yesterday.
The Act, which has been gazetted, will later be enforced simultaneously with the enforcement of the regulations.
This means that pending enforcement of the principal Act together with its regulations, nicotine vape remains legally accessible to minors aged below 18, after Dzulkefly’s predecessor, Dr Zaliha Mustafa, removed liquid nicotine from control under the Poisons Act 1952 nearly a year ago last March 31.
Dzulkefly also said the MOH has held stakeholder engagement sessions with ministry officials, government agencies, local councils, professional bodies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and tobacco and vape industry players, among others.
A total of 129 engagement sessions were held.
Former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin previously told the government to “strike back” against the tobacco industry with plain packaging and a retail display ban on cigarettes and other tobacco products, following the government’s failure to include the generational end game (GEG) ban in Act 852.
He also suggested restricting sales of vape and e-cigarettes to specialty stores.
Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan recently called for controls on ingredients, nicotine content, and the concentration of vape liquids.
