KUALA LUMPUR – Nicotine gels and liquids must be relisted as controlled substances under the Poisons Act 1952 following the government’s decision to decouple the Generational Endgame (GEG) from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023, said the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).
MMA president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz said in a statement that parents of children below 18 whose health had been affected as a result of consuming e-cigarettes or vaping products should also consider taking legal action against the government for ignoring expert advice and for failing in its duties to adequately protect citizens.
“The Health Ministry and, by extension, the government have ignored expert advice, warning them of the consequences of removing nicotine gels and liquids from the Poisons Act.
“As a result of its decision (to delist nicotine from the Poisons Act), e-cigarette and vaping products, including those with nicotine, can be legally sold to children of any age.”
She also said the health director-general revealed that 17 cases related to e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (Evali) were reported in June.
The organisation also slammed the delays and roadblocks to the bill, especially after it was reported that Attorney-General Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh was of the view that the lifetime ban on tobacco and vape products for anyone born on or after January 1, 2007, is unconstitutional.
“The government had months to extensively study all the angles concerning the bill. This bill has been deliberated on from the time of the previous government to the current government. Any ministry, before the tabling of such an important bill in Parliament, would have consulted their legal team or even the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) for their views and advice.
“Claiming that the GEG is ‘unconstitutional’ now, when the bill’s second reading was earlier scheduled to be tabled on October 10, smacks of yet another tactic to delay or stymie the tabling of the bill.”
It was reported that the cabinet has decided to drop the GEG provisions as the AGC deemed them unconstitutional in violation of Article 8 of the federal constitution on equality before the law.
With the bill delayed, nicotine, which has been removed from the Poisons Act 1952 as a scheduled poison, remains unregulated.
The government removed it from the list of scheduled poisons in order to begin collecting excise duty on nicotine-containing vape liquids at 40 sen per ml, effective April 1 of this year.
The bill with GEG provisions was first tabled in 2022 under the Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration but was pulled back for revision.
A revised version was tabled for first reading in June of this year under the present government and was again sent for further review by the Parliamentary Special Select Committee.
Instead of tabling it in October as promised, the Health Ministry announced a survey to gather public feedback on the bill via the MySejahtera app. – November 7, 2023