As Malaysia grapples with worsening haze and unhealthy air quality, the Malaysian Women’s Action for Tobacco Control and Health (MyWatch) expresses grave concern over a disturbing contradiction in our efforts to protect public health.
Schools are being closed, outdoor activities restricted, and Malaysians advised to remain indoors to minimise exposure to harmful air pollution. Yet, what happens when the very homes in which our children and older persons seek refuge are contaminated by cigarette smoke or vape emissions?
Are we protecting our children from the haze outside, only to expose them to another form of toxic pollution inside their own homes? This is an unacceptable and entirely preventable public health hazard.
Secondhand Tobacco Smoke: A Preventable Form of Air Pollution
Outdoor haze contains harmful fine particulate matter, particularly PM2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
However, tobacco smoke also contains fine particulate matter, together with thousands of chemicals, including numerous toxic and cancer-causing substances.
Research has demonstrated that smoking indoors can rapidly increase fine-particle concentrations, sometimes exceeding levels found in polluted outdoor environments.
During haze episodes, when doors and windows are kept closed to reduce outdoor pollution, cigarette smoke can accumulate indoors, further compromising air quality. Ordinary air-conditioning, ventilation systems and air purifiers cannot guarantee protection from secondhand tobacco smoke.
There is just no safe level of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke. Children, pregnant women, older persons and individuals living with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and other chronic illnesses are particularly vulnerable.
The irony is deeply troubling. We close schools to protect children from polluted outdoor air, but some adults continue to expose these same children to toxic tobacco smoke at home.
MyWatch therefore urges all Malaysians to make their homes, vehicles and shared indoor environments completely smoke-free and vape-free, not merely during the present haze emergency, but permanently. No child should have to choose between breathing polluted air outdoors and inhaling tobacco smoke at home.
Budget 2027: Will the Government Finally Put Health First?
As the prime minister and finance minister prepares to table Budget 2027 this afternoon, MyWatch calls upon the government to demonstrate genuine political commitment to protecting the health of Malaysians.
The present haze crisis is a reminder of how vulnerable our population remains to environmental and preventable health hazards.
Malaysia cannot afford to continue treating disease prevention and health promotion as secondary priorities while spending billions of ringgit managing diseases that could have been prevented.
The increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases, population ageing and rising health care costs demands a fundamental shift towards prevention.
A national budget should not be judged merely by how much money is allocated to treating diseases, but also by how effectively it prevents Malaysians from becoming ill in the first place.
MyWatch therefore calls for the following decisive measures in Budget 2027.
Substantially Increase Tobacco Taxes: No More Token Increases
The marginal two-sen-per-stick cigarette excise increase announced in Budget 2026 was grossly inadequate after years without meaningful tobacco tax increases. Such token measures fall far short of what is needed to reduce tobacco affordability, discourage smoking initiation and protect future generations.
MyWatch demands a substantial, multi-fold increase in tobacco excise duties, accompanied by automatic annual adjustments that exceed inflation and income growth.
Malaysia should move decisively towards the internationally recognised benchmark of tobacco taxes representing at least 75 per cent of the retail price.
Higher tobacco taxes are among the most effective measures for reducing tobacco consumption, particularly among young people. They can also generate additional government revenue while reducing future healthcare expenditure, productivity losses and premature deaths attributable to tobacco.
At a time when the government faces fiscal constraints, it is difficult to justify failing to utilise such a powerful fiscal and public health instrument. Concerns over illicit cigarette trade must be addressed through stronger enforcement, effective track-and-trace systems and action against smuggling, rather than used as an excuse for maintaining affordable tobacco.
The government must stop treating tobacco taxation merely as a revenue-collection exercise. It is first and foremost an instrument for protecting lives.
Ban Recreational Vaping: Protect Our Children From Nicotine Addiction
MyWATCH reiterates its demand for a comprehensive national prohibition on the commercial sale and distribution of recreational vaping products.
The High Court’s ruling in May 2026 that the removal of liquid and gel nicotine from the Poisons List was unlawful, followed by the government’s withdrawal of its appeal, provides an important opportunity to reset Malaysia’s nicotine-control policies.
We urge the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance to act decisively and end the continued commercial promotion and sale of recreational nicotine vaping products.
The proliferation of attractive, flavoured and easily accessible vaping products threatens to normalise nicotine addiction among children and adolescents. Vape aerosols are not harmless water vapour. They may contain nicotine, ultrafine particles, metals and other potentially harmful substances.
The government should not allow the financial interests of the vaping industry, or the relatively modest tax revenue generated from these products, to outweigh the health and wellbeing of our children. We cannot claim to protect our young generation while allowing an industry to recruit them into nicotine dependence.
MyWatch also reiterates its call for the reinstatement of the Generational End Game through an appropriate, legally robust framework, to progressively protect future generations from tobacco and nicotine addiction.
Protect Children And Older Persons Through Greater Investment In Prevention
Budget 2027 must allocate meaningful resources to strengthening primary healthcare, health promotion, disease prevention and environmental health protection.
Particular attention must be given to vulnerable populations, including children, older persons, pregnant women, low-income households and individuals with chronic diseases.
MyWatch calls for stronger investment in school health programmes, healthy ageing initiatives, tobacco cessation services, air-quality protection, community-based prevention and public education.
We also urge the government to establish sustainable financing for health promotion, including consideration of restoring a dedicated national health promotion institution, such as MySihat 2.0.
A defined portion of additional revenue generated through higher tobacco taxes should be channelled towards prevention, cessation, health promotion and programmes benefiting vulnerable communities, subject to appropriate public finance safeguards.
Prevention is not an expenditure that Malaysia can postpone until the economy improves. It is an investment that helps protect both the health of the population and the financial sustainability of the nation.
Political Will Must Translate Into Action
Malaysia has been a Party to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control since December 2005.
More than two decades later, our commitment to protecting the population from tobacco exposure, reducing tobacco consumption and preventing industry interference must be demonstrated through concrete policy decisions.
Tobacco control is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Health alone.
The Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, and other relevant agencies must share responsibility for creating environments that protect and promote health.
The present haze emergency illustrates how seriously the government can respond when air pollution threatens public health.
We expect the same determination in confronting tobacco smoke, nicotine addiction and other preventable threats that harm Malaysians every single day.
Our Message To The Government Is Simple
If we can close schools to protect children from outdoor haze, surely we can take decisive action to protect them from tobacco smoke and nicotine addiction.
If we can mobilise national resources to respond to an environmental health emergency, surely we can mobilise fiscal and legislative measures to prevent the enormous burden of tobacco-related diseases.
And if we are serious about protecting older persons and preparing Malaysia for an ageing population, prevention must become a central pillar of national health policy.
Budget 2027 presents an opportunity for the government to demonstrate that the health of Malaysians takes precedence over the commercial interests of industries that profit from addiction.
MyWatch expects more than promises. We expect bold taxation, a ban on recreational vaping, stronger smoke-free protection and meaningful investment in disease prevention.
Let our homes be safe from tobacco smoke, our children be free from nicotine addiction, and our national budget reflect the true value we place on the health of our people.
This press statement was issued by MyWatch president Roslizawati Ali.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
