The bill, among others, seeks to ban the sale and purchase of tobacco products, smoking materials, tobacco substitute products, or the provision of any service for smoking to minors.
It was passed following tense debate involving 27 MPs from both sides, who expressed disappointment with the removal of the Generational End Game (GEG) provisions from the bill.
Some MPs, notably Hassan Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang), questioned whether the government had bowed to pressure from tobacco lobbyists in retracting the provisions.
The GEG component would have prohibited the sale of tobacco and vape products to those born after 2007.
On Tuesday, health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the government had to remove the GEG provisions from the amended version of the bill as they were unconstitutional.
However, she insisted that the ministry had not scrapped the provisions as a whole but was simply “putting it aside for now”.
She said the government might revive tabling the law “if there is a need for the GEG provisions in the future”.
Earlier, while winding up the debate session, Zaliha acknowledged that while it is the MPs who draft the laws, advice given by the Attorney-General’s Chamber (AGC) had to be considered.
“Therefore, after taking into account the AGC’s views, the ministry has decided to continue with the tabling of this Bill as it is crucial to close any loopholes in existing laws.
“This is to ensure there are comprehensive regulations for all tobacco products, which include electronic cigarettes and vape (products).
“It is a must for the bill to be passed immediately,” said Zaliha.
The health minister also said much stricter enforcement will guarantee the effectiveness of the law in reducing smoking prevalence among the public, as reported in other countries such as Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
“(The retraction of GEG) does not mean that the ministry takes the smoking problem in our country lightly. We (health ministry) will continue to intensify our advocacy activities in discouraging the smoking habit.”
The Control of Smoking Products for Public Health 2023 Bill was first tabled in the lower house last year by Zaliha’s predecessor, Khairy Jamaluddin, who included the GEG provision in his bill.
However, the Bill received bipartisan opposition from the MPs, which led to the bill being referred to the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on health several times. Such opposition and re-reference to the PSC resumed even when the bill was re-tabled this year by Zaliha.
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