Khairy said ministers would have the opportunity to exchange views and present their arguments and he would also be able to give an explanation about the bill.

He said this was the first step to convince the Cabinet and win their support to enable him to table the bill in Parliament.

“If the bill is approved, Malaysia will be the first country in the world to pass it as a law banning smoking and possession of smoking products, including electronic cigarettes (vape), for those born after 2005,” he said.

He was addressing a press conference after the launch of the Generational Endgame Advocacy Roadshow (Gegar) in Serdang today. Also present was women, family and community development minister Rina Harun.

Khairy said the proposed implementation of the generational endgame (GEG) provision in the bill was to protect youths from picking up the smoking habit and getting addicted to tobacco products as they grow older.

He said it also aims to reduce the number of smokers in Malaysia to below 5% by 2040.

“This will be able to reduce the risk of premature deaths, chronic diseases and treatment costs that have to be borne by the government due to smoking complications among the community,” he said.

He said the prevalence of smokers in Malaysia was still high, at 40.5% among men and 20% among women.

“Now is the best time to shut the door completely to smoking for young Malaysians,” he said.

Khairy said although many might not support the bill as they view that it would affect the country’s source of income and the tourism industry, the government would have to bear treatment costs amounting to about RM8 billion to treat health problems linked to smoking, if the problem is left unchecked.