In a Facebook post, Tiong said Khairy had introduced an “unconstitutional” and “unenforceable” bill, calling it hastily drafted with ill-prepared measures.

Adding that there might be potential flaws and public complaints, he asked who would bear the responsibility.

He also said Khairy had consistently failed to substantiate his claims on the vulnerability of the B40 group to smoking-related diseases.

“Khairy not only failed to provide detailed answers but also never directly addressed my specific questions on the matter,” he said.

Similarly, Tiong said Khairy had failed to prove that cancer is caused by smoking habits.

“You have not implemented measures to establish research centres or institutions to analyse and further investigate detailed data on cancer patients in our country,” he said.

“Therefore, the proposed bill you suggest lacks a strong foundation to be defended, and more importantly, it is inappropriate for you to blame other ministers just to vent your frustration.”

Formally known as the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023, the GEG bill came under recent scrutiny after health news portal CodeBlue reported that Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh had deemed a provision in the bill to be “unconstitutional”.

Terrirudin said the provision to ban those born after 2007 from buying and consuming tobacco and vape products violated Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees equality.

Khairy had then called out three government figures without directly naming them for causing setbacks to the bill.