KUALA LUMPUR – The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has always held the view that the Generational Endgame (GEG) provision in proposed legislation to control smoking and tobacco products is unconstitutional.
The AGC in a statement tonight responded to former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s claims that the government’s legal adviser was being inconsistent in opposing the provision now, when it did not do so before when the bill was first introduced.
“AGC stresses that we have at all times been consistent in giving the legal view since 2022 that the GEG can be challenged in court because it violates Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, whereby the (GEG) provision will create legal discrimination between someone born before January 1, 2007, and someone born on or after January 1, 2007,” the statement read.
On November 11, Khairy in an Instagram Story had posted that the AGC had approved the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022, while he was health minister, and did not state that it was unconstitutional.
“Now, AGC suddenly says it’s unconstitutional. This volte face has no basis in law. It’s a political decision, plain and simple. So much for protecting future generations and saving lives. Big tobacco and the vape industry must be loving it,” the former Umno lawmaker said.
Article 8 of the federal constitution states that all persons are equal before the law.
Health news portal CodeBlue earlier this month reported, citing sources, that the 2023 version of the bill was seeing a delay yet again as Attorney-General Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh is of the view that the lifetime ban on tobacco and vape products for anyone born on or after January 1, 2007, is unconstitutional.
It would mean that the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023, which the Health Ministry was to table for second reading on October 10 during Parliament’s current meeting, will most likely not see the light of day this round. The current meeting ends on November 30.
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.
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/ml, effective April 1 of this year.
Health activists and medical groups have expressed concern that there is now a legal gap in the regulation of cigarette and vape products, which will make them easily accessible to minors. – November 18, 2023