Questions over fate of smoking endgame bill after govt delists nicotine

Despite assurances by the prime minister, questions linger over the fate of the generational endgame bill, meant to curb the smoking habit among the youth, after the health ministry's move to delist liquid or gel nicotine as a poisonous substance.

Anwar Ibrahim said in the Dewan Rakyat on April 4 that the Tobacco Products and Smoking Control Bill, championed by former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, would be tabled during the Parliament session in May. 

He also apologised for the delay caused by calls for a review of the bill by a special parliamentary committee. 

But public health group Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy also noted Anwar's remarks that a ban on vape and cigarettes would be "drastic action" and difficult to implement.

"Since that is fundamentally the cornerstone of the GEG policy which is to ban the use of cigarettes, vape and e-cigarettes from generations born from 2007 onwards, does that mean the GEG component has been removed from the bill?" Galen CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib said. 

The move to exempt liquid or gel nicotine – the main ingredient for vape products – from categorisation as a controlled substance under the Poisons Act came despite unanimous objection from the Poisons Board. 

Public health expert Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar acknowledged Anwar's comments on the difficulty of controlling the smoking habit, saying no country had succeeded in this regard with the exception of Bhutan in 2010. 

But while Bhutan became the first country to prohibit smoking and the sale of tobacco products in public places, the ban crumbled after a decade, when the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic forced policymakers to legalise the sale of tobacco once more. 

Nevertheless, Zainal said the government should control the use of cigarettes and vape to reduce addiction and harm to health, including through taxation. 

He added that nicotine should have been delisted only after the GEG bill was tabled and approved. 

"Right now, the government has opened the floodgates for nicotine, vape and other related products. 

"Everyone, including children, will be able to access and use nicotine, which will eventually lead to nicotine addiction," he said, urging the government to postpone its decision on delisting nicotine until the GEG bill is passed into law. 

Vaping is often seen as an alternative to smoking for those looking to kick the habit. 

But a report published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in December 2021 said vaping significantly increases the risk of chronic lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema.

Co-author Jonathan Grigg, a professor in paediatrics and respiratory disease, said vaping should only be used to help those trying to quit smoking. 

"Vapes should not be used by children, young people or non-smokers," he said.