Report: Govt to ban tobacco products for anyone born after 2005
The government is planning to ban smoking for the next generation by prohibiting the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products to anyone born after 2005, according to a report.
The report by the health news site CodeBlue yesterday said this would mean people who are aged 17 today will not be able to purchase such products legally when they reach the legal age of smoking next year...
The government is planning to ban smoking for the next generation by prohibiting the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products to anyone born after 2005, according to a report.
The report by the health news site CodeBlue yesterday said this would mean people who are aged 17 today will not be able to purchase such products legally when they reach the legal age of smoking next year.
“We, like some other Western Pacific countries, hope to pass a legislation this year, which will bring about a generation endgame to smoking by making it illegal for the sale of tobacco and other smoking products to anyone born after 2005,” Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was quoted as saying.
He reportedly said this at the 150th session at the World Health Organization’s executive board meeting in Geneva.
“Malaysia feels this will have a significant impact in preventing and controlling NCDs (non-communicable diseases),” Khairy said.
The report noted that there are more than 27,200 smoking-related deaths reported in Malaysia each year.
For comparison, there were 31,058 confirmed Covid-19 deaths last year, making it likely to become the leading cause of death in 2021.
Meanwhile, according to CodeBlue, Khairy had previously said he will table a new Tobacco and Smoking Control Act in the forthcoming Parliament meeting, which will replace current tobacco control laws under the Food Act 1983.
The new law will also regulate e-cigarettes and vape products.
The generational smoking ban would be similar to New Zealand’s plan to raise the legal smoking age by one year, every year, beginning 2027 – essentially keeping smoking products out of reach to people born after 2008.
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