BRITISH American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT Malaysia), JT International Bhd (JTI Malaysia) and Philip Morris (Malaysia) Bhd (PMM) the three largest tobacco companies in the country, which collectively hold a 95% market share of the legal tobacco trade are assessing the market and waiting for a proper regulatory framework to be established before introducing electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) or vape products in Malaysia.
KUALA LUMPUR: Cigarette smugglers should face harsher legal action in a bid to deter such activities, says JT International Bhd general manager Khoo Beng Lee.
MALAYSIA is in line to become the first country in the world to ban the future generation from smoking and vaping as lawmakers gather in parliament this week to debate and vote on the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022. The bill was tabled for first reading in parliament by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin last Wednesday. If passed, it will mean any Malaysian who turns 15 this year, and those younger than that, will never be able to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco and vaping products. Currently, anyone who turns 18 can buy tobacco products.
UNCERTAINTIES surrounding a potential new law to prohibit smoking and the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2005, in a move dubbed the “generational endgame”, may continue to weigh on British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT Malaysia) in the short term, say analysts. Its share price has fallen 6% since Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced on Feb 17 that the government was looking to implement this law in Malaysia. The stock closed at RM11.82 last Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM3.37 billion.
Valued at an estimated RM2.7 billion, the local vape industry is expanding significantly and has reached a 42% share of the total tobacco market. Despite this, it remains unregulated.