Malaysia Ready to Table New Tobacco Endgame Bill

Malaysia’s Ministry of Health is ready to table the Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill, which includes the Generational Endgame (GEG) policy, reports the New Straits Times.

If enacted, the legislation would prohibit anyone born in 2007 or later from buying and using cigarettes or vaping products in Malaysia. A provision to ban possession of those products has been dropped from the bill on the recommendation of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee.

The bill also governs registration, advertising, promotion and sponsorship, packaging and sales of smoking products.

“Any violation, including selling of cigarettes to children in the GEG group will be an offence when the bill is passed,” said the health minister’s special adviser, Helmy Haja Mydin.

People in the targeted age group caught buying or using tobacco or vaper product risk fines of MYR500 and community service. The fines had been reduced from a previous proposal to avoid unduly burdening the GEG group.

According to Mydin, the order is meant to educate and show that the policy is not purely punitive.

After its enactment, the bill requires periodic reports to measure the legislation’s effectiveness in combating underage smoking.