Azrul called on the PSSC on Health, under the leadership of Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, to convene a meeting and immediately send the Bill back to the Dewan Rakyat for second reading, debate, third reading, and vote before the end of this parliamentary meeting. — AFP photo
KUCHING (June 12): The government’s decision to refer the Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill 2023 to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) on Health after its first reading, rather than proceeding to the next stage, is both surprising and disappointing.
In stating this, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib said allowing the Bill to proceed to second reading would have allowed for open debate, transparency of opinion and consideration of its merits.
As such, he called on the PSSC on Health, under the leadership of Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, to convene a meeting and immediately send the Bill back to the Dewan Rakyat for second reading, debate, third reading, and vote before the end of this parliamentary meeting.
“The Health Minister opened the Pandora’s Box when she signed the order last March to remove liquid and gel nicotine used in the production of vape and e-cigarettes from the list of controlled substances scheduled under the Poisons Act 1952,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Azrul said this move not only shocked those who work in public health and tobacco control here in Malaysia but also internationally, eliciting a strong response and statement on vape and e-cigarettes from the director general of the World Health Organisation on June 2.
“It must be remembered that this exemption order went against the recommendations of the Poisons Board. It had unanimously rejected this proposal in March for good reason,” he said.
According to him, there are still no legal frameworks or regulations currently governing the production, packaging, marketing, sale and use of these devices, prior to declassification.
With the health minister’s order, Azrul said there are now absolutely no safeguards which prevent the sale of e-cigarettes and vape products of high nicotine concentration to anyone, including minors.
“We are already seeing the consequences. Children, teenagers, youth especially young women, are now the targets of aggressive promotional, marketing and sales campaigns by retailers and manufacturers.
“More vape and e-cigarettes are being produced which are deliberately made to look colourful, have sweet juices, and designs which appeal to young people,” he highlighted.
He said recent studies and cases by the Ministry of Health were already reporting seeing more teenagers taking up vape and e-cigarettes, becoming addicted to nicotine, and even becoming seriously ill as a result of respiratory diseases.
Given this, he wondered why the government was ignoring its own data and evidence.
He said the unregulated and unchecked status of vape and e-cigarettes constituted a clear and present public health threat in Malaysia.
“None of these issues or problems can be properly addressed and overcome without the proper legislation in place. No more excuses, ifs and buts. The government and MPs must be pragmatic, find both the right compromises, and the moral courage to step up and do the right thing.
“If this means that we must temporarily shelve the Generational Endgame provisions to guarantee passage of this Bill, then so be it. We urgently need the Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill to be passed in Parliament now,” Azrul added.