LETTER | The British government and its parliament have shown moral fibre, courage and concern for their future generations by passing a bill to ban anyone aged 15 and below from ever buying cigarettes.

United Kingdom's Prime Minister Sunak pointed out that smoking is the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death.

Their government's overriding concern against smoking which causes 80,000 deaths annually, plus more smoking-related illness over purported curbing of free will shows their love, sensibility and rationality towards life and its quality.

The UK is a bastion of democracy, freedom of thought and speech. Their laws are used as precedents by many countries and are tenets of many countries' laws and constitutions including Malaysia.

Their lawmakers have likely weighed their conscience for free will and even unpopularity and anger from some of their voters, tobacco-related companies or even shopkeepers and yet a big majority voted for the smoking ban.

Life trumps all because people will strive to survive even in the most oppressive of governments and regimes.

The banning of smoking is but a lesser price to pay for better health, quality of life, longevity and improved quality of healthcare through savings from treating smoking-related illnesses and campaigns.

Not smoking is not known to cause ill health, disability and death. Smoking causes all this and more, inflicting misery and pain on those who suffer from related ailments and affecting their families and friends too.

The British lawmakers decided life and its quality for future generations far outweighs and is morally and financially superior compared to the free will to smoke.

Malaysian lawmakers had a choice and opportunity earlier this year to enact the generational end game (GEG), but they blew it away, citing it was against freedom of choice as allowed for in the Constitution.

Later, we then had the infamous reversal. Initially, the deputy health minister, during question time in Parliament, stated that GEG was suspended due to strong lobbying and pressure from tobacco and vape companies.

A few days later, the ministry claimed it was suspended due to contradiction to freedom of choice.

The nation may never know the real reason for the suspension but there would likely have been strong pressure and lobbying by anti-GEG concerns as the initial statement testifies.

Be courageous

The Health Ministry cannot have knowingly made such a huge guffaw on such an important issue.

If Malaysia does not wish to be world leaders and pioneers in advocating better health and quality of life and yet again follow in the footsteps of others, then so be it we become mere imitators rather than innovators.

However, for the sake of the nation’s future generations, do not let GEG wither away into obscurity.

Our parliamentarians must now demonstrate they are equal or have better moral fibre, courage and concern for future generations than their UK counterparts and enact the GEG law promptly.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.