MAY 30 —In the upcoming parliamentary session in June, Dewan Rakyat members will have the opportunity to consider passing the Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill 2023. This proposed piece of omnibus legislation, previously known as the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill as tabled last year by the previous government, has since been revised and amended based on inputs and suggestions from MPs and a parliamentary select committee. The new bill is expected to be tabled next week.
Due to the government’s recent decision to remove gel and liquid nicotine used for e-cigarettes and vape from the list of scheduled substances under the Poisons Act 1952, there is now a vacuum or a lacunae in the law. Retailers are selling disposable vape with nicotine devices to children and adolescents who are buying them using their pocket money. More and more packaging and marketing materials seem to be targeting children with bright colours, sweet juicy flavours and even cartoon shaped devices.Malaysia needs to bring its tobacco-related legislation and regulations to the same standards of other countries such as Australia, Thailand and Singapore.
Malaysia’s smoking prevalence has hovered around 21 per cent for several years. This may seem acceptable until a further breakdown of the national data, reveals that almost half of all men smoke cigarettes. Around 1 per cent of women smoke. 17.4 per cent of children aged 13 to 15 smoke. 1 in 10 of those aged younger than 12 have already lit up a cigarette.
Malaysia’s vaping prevalence among this group of children is already higher than the United States’ which is less than 10 per cent. While no substantial evidence can currently be provided that adult cigarette smokers in Malaysia are switching to vape en masse, thus reducing their numbers, it seems that for children who smoke, this trend is clearly the case.
We know that there are far fewer carcinogens produced in vape liquids and gels when they are heated and vapourised, as compared to the hundreds from burning tobacco. When tobacco smoke is inhaled, the tar forms a sticky layer on the inside of the lungs, causing damage which may lead to lung cancer, emphysema, or other lung problems.
Vaping could mean less likely for a person to develop lung cancer but increased risk of other serious chronic respiratory diseases. As public healthcare in Malaysia is highly subsidised by tax revenue, the government is spending at least RM16 billion a year to treat patients with diseases caused by smoking and vaping.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)
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