Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa announced that her ministry will table the Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill, which includes the generational endgame (GEG) policy, on June 12.
“After that, I will see the Dewan Rakyat secretary and speaker, we’ll see how we go from there,” Zaliha said, confirming the bill will be tabled in the last week of this second session of the 15th Parliament.
At a media briefing in Parliament today, she was asked whether the bill will continue to be debated and passed in the last three days of this sitting.
She also said the new bill will comprise several new provisions as well as amendments relating to the smoking ban on those born from 2007 onwards.
“When we look at what has been tabled in the bill before this, there are several things which we have amended.
“This is because the approach we have chosen is more to a ‘soft landing’ with intentions to educate the people,” she said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said, as a former Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) member, he engaged with vape industry players who raised their objections to specific provisions under the original bill.
However, he said further discussions have led to their eventual support for the current version of the bill.
“So now they said they will accept the law if it is passed by Parliament,” he added.
Lukanisman noted that other proposed amendments, including the reduced fine from RM5,000 to RM500, can be debated once the bill has been tabled.
Smoking endgame
The GEG policy under the bill will impose a ban on buying and using cigarettes or vaping products for those born from 2007 onwards.
Among proposals dropped from the current bill include extending the ban to also the keeping and possession of cigarettes or vaping products.
The bill also includes control over registration, advertising, promotion, sponsorship, packaging, and sales of smoking products. - Mkini
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