Latest news with #ControlofSmokingProductsforPublicHealthBill2023
Free Malaysia Today
28-04-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Time to revive GEG, Tuan Ibrahim tells govt
Deputy IGP Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said more states should ban the sale of e-cigarettes and vapes as they were becoming increasingly linked to the abuse of new synthetic drugs. PETALING JAYA : PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has urged the government to consider reviving the generational endgame (GEG) bill as several states consider banning the sale of vapes and e-cigarettes. The Kubang Kerian MP said Putrajaya should emulate Johor and Terengganu in banning the sale of vapes and e-cigarettes, with Terengganu's ban coming into effect on Aug 1. He pointed out that the Kedah, Penang and Selangor governments were also mulling following suit. 'This step should have been taken by the unity government long ago, but it places more importance on the tax revenue it earns from the vape industry than the more concerning health effects, especially on youths. 'For the sake of the health and wellbeing of future generations, the government of the day should continue the measures taken by the previous Perikatan Nasional-led government. 'If the people's health is truly the priority and the government sincerely wants to put an end to this vape problem, then implementing the GEG is the right move. It's now up to the unity government,' he said in a Facebook post. Tuan Ibrahim pointed out that the Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce previously estimated that there were more than 1.5 million vape users in Malaysia in 2022, and said this was bound to increase annually. The GEG provision, which was to ban the sale and use of tobacco products to those born on or after Jan 1, 2007, was removed from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023. Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad had even apologised to the Senate for the provision's exclusion, which the Attorney-General's Chambers had said would be unconstitutional. Earlier this month, deputy inspector-general of police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said more states should ban the sale of e-cigarettes and vapes as they were becoming increasingly linked to the abuse of new synthetic drugs. Ayob said students as young as 13 have been caught using vapes containing substances mixed with drugs, and that fentanyl-laced vape liquids have been found, with effects 100 times stronger and more dangerous than morphine. In response, Dzulkefly said the issuance of licences to vape and e-cigarette traders was under the purview of state and local authorities. Terengganu announced that it would ban the sale of vapes and e-cigarettes from Aug 1, becoming the second state to do so after Johor, which introduced the ban in 2016. Despite Tuan Ibrahim's call, public health expert Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh said stricter controls were better than banning vape outright, and that other nations that introduced GEG laws later abandoned them based on poor results.
Free Malaysia Today
24-04-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Stricter controls better than total ban on vape products, says expert
Deputy inspector-general of police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay recently said students as young as 13 years old have been caught using vape products containing substances mixed with drugs. PETALING JAYA : Enforcing stricter controls on products with higher risks over the less harmful versions is a better way to beat the vape scourge than an outright ban, according to a public health expert. Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh said such 'risk-proportionate' regulations will also make room for safer alternatives, such as medical-grade lab-certified vape products for adults unable to quit smoking. The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer pointed out that attempts to reduce smoking, such as the Generational End Game (GEG), have been abandoned based on poor results in other countries. For instance, New Zealand has failed to achieve the desired objectives outlined in the GEG, which ties the right to buy tobacco products to a person's age. 'There is no need to revisit GEG,' she told FMT. The GEG provision, which was to ban the sale and use of tobacco products to those born on or after Jan 1, 2007, has been expunged from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023. Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh. Sharifa pointed out that while vape products that are now allowed in the market do not contain drugs, illicit vendors have been peddling those mixed with banned substances. Recently, deputy inspector-general of police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay revealed that students as young as 13 have been caught using such 'contaminated' vape products. He said about 65% of vape products are found to contain methamphetamine and ecstasy, both classified as poisons. Ayob said fentanyl, which is 100 times stronger and more dangerous than morphine and 20 to 40 times stronger than herion, have been detected in vape liquids. Sharifa said the authorities should also clamp down hard on the import of unregulated vape products into the country. 'This will reduce the availability of cheap vape products in the black market, restricting access to it for adolescents and teenagers,' she added. Make it unattractive Dr Lee Boon Chye. Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye suggested that steps be taken to reduce the desire, among the youth especially, for vape products. As in the case of cigarettes, the product packaging should be designed to reduce its appeal to young people, he told FMT. 'Steps should also be taken to limit nicotine levels in e-liquid products. Also remove fruity flavours that attract young users and ensure they are free of adulterated illicit substances,' he said. E-liquid is a vape product that contains nicotine as well as propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin or glycerol and other chemicals, including those used to create a variety of flavours such as fruits, menthol and beverages. Like Sharifa, Lee agrees that banning vape products is not the way to go. 'While the rapid and largely unchecked growth of the vape industry has created new risks, banning the now multi-billion ringgit industry would be extremely difficult, anyway,' he said. For now, he said, the tobacco control bill of 2023 remains the best and most practical solution. He proposed that the quantity of allowable content in vape liquids be regulated.
