“Don’t tell me that we shouldn’t have high ambitions just because there’s an illicit cigarette market…I’ve never heard such defeatist sentiments,” says Khairy Jamaluddin.
A 2016 study by the Institute for Public Health found that 125,714 children born from Jan 1, 2005 smoke cigarettes, while 62,306 vape; the cohort ban prohibits tobacco and vape.
The government’s goal to reduce smoking prevalence in Malaysia to 15% by 2025 can be achieved if it also empowers smokers desperate to kick the habit with the tools they need.
Khairy Jamaluddin says the Tobacco Bill needs to undergo more stakeholder engagement, including with NGOs, tobacco and vape industries, and will be presented at Parliament’s health committee first.
Although Khairy Jamaluddin can table the Tobacco Bill, which includes provisions on the generation smoking ban, anytime during the current Dewan Rakyat meeting, delaying it may increase chances of failed passage, like with the Act 342 amendment Bill in the last meeting.