MPs must find moral courage to table Tobacco Bill - Galen Centre

Kuala Lumpur: The Chief Executive of the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy Azrul Mohd Khalib urged the government and the Members of Parliament to find the 'moral courage to table and pass' a revised version of the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill.

"Fundamentally, most countries have tobacco-specific legislation to regulate cigarettes, cigars and other types of tobacco products. Countries such as New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia are currently amending or have amended this specific legislation to include and regulate vapes and e-cigarettes, or have banned them outright," Azrul told BFM Radio interviewer Wong Shou Ning on 3 April.

"Now there is only one remedy - the revised Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill must be tabled in Parliament as soon as possible. No more excuses, ifs and buts," Azrul added.

When asked if vapes should be taxed, Azrul agreed that the government should do so, but added that vapes and e-cigarettes should also be "regulated as strictly as tobacco products".

Azrul was asked to comment on the government's recent move to approve an amendment to the Poisons Act 1952 to allow the legalisation of nicotine-containing products.

The Poisons Board, which met on Wednesday, is believed to have voted against removing nicotine liquids and gels from the list of poisons.

A gazette notice showed an amendment to the Poisons Act with an additional clause allowing nicotine to be used in the "preparation of a kind used for smoking through the electronic cigarette and electric vaporising device, in the form of liquid or gel".

The Poisons (Amendment of List of Poisons) Order 2023 was signed by the Minister of Health, Dr Zaliha Mustafa.

When asked if this move to overrule the Poisons Board will set a negative precedent, Azrul said that it will.

"Unfortunately it does (set a negative precedent). Changes are made on the advice of the Poisons Board. Yes, the (health) minister does not have to follow the board's recommendations, but this board is made up of pharmacists, (medical) industry representatives and health professionals.

"So we'd like to think that they know what they're recommending. So I understand that the Health Minister is in a difficult position, given the pressure to tax (vaping products). But there's a reason why the Health Minister is given this heavy burden or responsibility, and that is to act as the authority at cabinet level on public health."

"There is only one thing to do, and that is for the provisions contained in the proposed (tobacco) bill to be tabled and passed. The government and Members of Parliament must find the moral courage to step up and do the right thing. No one wants to see their daughters and sons addicted to nicotine, suffering from chronic diseases such as lung cancer and prematurely dying. We will all look back at the harm and suffering caused by smoking and vaping, the lives lost prematurely, the billions spent to save them and wonder why we didn't act sooner," said Azrul.

"As of today, there is already no existing regulation on vaping. In the absence of the proposed Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill, there is currently a massive gap in the existing legislation regarding the marketing and sale of nicotine-containing products, especially vape and e-cigarettes," Azrul added.

"The proposed (tobacco) bill needs to be tabled as soon as possible especially since, a lot of people, especially in the Health Ministry, have been working very hard to get this done. This bill has already been approved by the parliamentary committee that was convened for this purpose. But to be realistic, based on what we see at the political will level, there's no guarantee that it will be successfully introduced, voted on and passed. And it could be another year before we go through this again, and again there's no guarantee. So in the meantime, there's this vacuum that I've been talking to you about, and the lack of regulation. And I can tell you this... even the vape industry knows that this is - like a windfall for them... macam durian runtuh," Azrul added.