"Our Grandchildren Deserve Clean Air" — Khairy Shares His Plans To Cease Smoking & Vaping
The health minister hopes that the Dewan Rakyat will pass the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022, which aims to ban smoking and vaping for anyone born from 2007 onwards.
By Timothy Tuan — 29 Sep 2022, 05:22 PM
In a bid to ban smoking for the sake of future generations, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin recently spoke about the dangers of smoking and his long-term plans for tobacco and e-cigarette harm reduction at a walkathon
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin at the World Lung Day 2022 Fun Walk Event on Sunday, 25 September.
Image via Dr Helmy (Twitter)On 25 September, the health minister attended the World Lung Day 2022 Fun Walk Event to help raise awareness for lung health and asthma, as well as promote a better and healthier lifestyle.
The event, organised by non-profit organisation Asthma Malaysia, saw over 500 Malaysians participating in the 5km walkathon to celebrate World Lung Day 2022, which fell on the same day.
During the event, Khairy spoke about the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022, which aims to ban smoking and vaping for anyone born from 2007 onwards
The Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022, also known as the tobacco generational endgame (GEG) law, is part of the Ministry of Health (MOH)'s efforts to cease smoking and vaping in the long run.
"This is to make sure that no one born after 2007 can ever buy a cigarette, can ever buy a vape again, here in Malaysia," said Khairy at the Fun Walk Event.
According to an article by Free Malaysia Today, Khairy said that if the bill takes effect, it can help to reduce the number of smokers in the country to below 5% by 2040.
"We deserve clean air, and more importantly, the generation after us — our children and grandchildren — also deserve clean air," he said.
While Khairy stressed the importance of banning smoking and vaping, he also said that under the bill, there will be no imprisonment for those caught smoking or vaping
In fact, several amendments were made to the bill to reduce the harshness of the offence. According to New Straits Times, the fine listed in the bill was reduced from RM5,000 to RM500, community service was added as an option in lieu of a fine, and punishments for possessions of tobacco products and smoking devices were omitted. Additionally, authorities cannot conduct a body search for individuals under the age of 18.
"[We're] not going to put anyone in jail for smoking under the offence. They said, 'Oh, you'll arrest the youth and all that' but no, of course not. I'm not crazy. I'm not punitive," said Khairy.
Khairy said that while he doesn't deny the fact that the government gets money from high excise taxes on cigarettes, the overall amount cannot compare to how much the government spends on medical treatments for respiratory diseases and conditions every year
"Yeah, we get about RM2 to 3 billion a year, but do you know how much we spend on treating lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart disease because of smoking? That's about RM6 billion right now," the health minister said.
He added that the overall medical expenditure will increase to about RM8 billion yearly in the next five years.
In concluding his speech, he reminded the rakyat to unite and fight for clean air, and claim their rights to protect the future generation from smoking.
"If we had known what we know about smoking today, we would have never ever allowed it to be sold, ever, in this country," Khairy stated.
Since he was appointed Health Minister last year, Khairy has been making efforts to combat smoking and the use of tobacco products
Earlier this year, in January, Khairy attended the 150th session of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) executive board meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, announcing that he hopes Malaysia passes a legislation that would completely cease smoking for future generations.
In April, MOH launched the GEGAR-18 campaign, which proposed the generation endgame to smoking, where Khairy acknowledged the black market for cigarettes in Malaysia, vowing to fight and prevent all illicit cigarette trades.
And from July to August, the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022 was tabled for the first and second reading in Parliament. Khairy stated that the bill will be brought to Parliament again in October.
"We're still confronted with a lot of opposition — no guarantee that this law will go through Parliament when we bring it to [them] in October," said Khairy.
If the bill gets approved, the law would come into force in 2025, in which the ban against tobacco products, smoking substances, substitute tobacco products, and smoking devices for Malaysians born after 2007 will take effect.
