After a thorough examination of the new regulations gazetted last week to enforce the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852), the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy believes that the controls and restrictions introduced represent a genuine game changer moment in Malaysia’s struggle against smoking, vaping, and nicotine addiction in general.
These regulations to enforce Act 852 come two decades after the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004 were first issued under the Food Act 1983 to regulate cigarettes and tobacco.
The latter regulations controlled, among other things, smoke-free environments; tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship; and tobacco packaging and labelling.
What we are gratified to see is that these new regulations which replace the previous version, now also include vape and e-cigarettes equally under expanded and updated controls.
Vape and e-cigarettes are treated similarly to cigarettes and tobacco products, which the Galen Centre strongly advocates for.
Vaping became uncontrolled and unregulated due to the government’s decision last year to deregulate nicotine used in vape and e-cigarettes under the Poisons Act for the purposes of taxation.
Vape with high nicotine concentration, retail sales using vending machines, promotion at sports and lifestyle events, and active marketing aimed at children and young people, became normalised and acceptable.
As a result, the number of underaged vape users among adolescents and youth has spiked. With these new regulations, this Pandora’s Box can now be closed and the situation brought under control. However, success will depend on effective enforcement and cooperation.
The Act and these regulations bring Malaysia to the standard of other countries around the world such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Thailand, and Singapore, which have standalone principal legislation on tobacco and vape.
These regulations will now introduce point-of-sale display bans, restrictions on e-cigarette nicotine quantity and concentrations, ban the use of vending machines, prohibit involvement of the vape and tobacco industries in sports and lifestyle events, as well as introduce new restrictions to help prevent and control nicotine addiction and reduce underage smoking and vaping.
In addition to this policy change, the government should also consider in the upcoming Budget 2025 to increase the existing excise duties on cigarettes and tobacco products.
The Galen Centre proposes that the excise tax rate be increased to RM0.77 per stick, equivalent to 61 per cent excise tax of the retail price.
This is not unreasonable as the tax on these products have remained unchanged since 2015. It is overdue. This increase has the potential to generate an additional tax revenue of RM771.8 million. The revenue from this tax should also be earmarked for health expenditure.
Malaysia currently spends an estimated RM16 billion annually treating smoking-related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and lung cancer.
The combined effect of the tobacco excise duty increase as well as the enforcement of the new regulations will significantly change Malaysia’s future in fighting against smoking and vaping, as well as treating related diseases.
Azrul Mohd Khalib is the founder and chief executive officer of Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
