KUALA LUMPUR: Fresh from their disappointment over the delay in the passing of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023, aimed at, among others, controlling the sale and purchase of tobacco products and tobacco substitutes and smoking devices such as vape, health experts and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are urging the government to suspend the exemption of liquid nicotine from the list of controlled substances under the Poisons Act 1952.
Experts want liquid nicotine to remain on list of controlled substances theborneopost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theborneopost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Ministry of Health’s decision to introduce new legislation to address the smoking habit, through a strategy termed as Generational Endgame (GEG), is seen by experts and activists as a timely move.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin is expected to table the proposed law in the Dewan Rakyat in July. On Feb 17, he announced that a new Act will be introduced to, among other things, ban smoking and possession of tobacco products, including vape, for the generation born in and after 2005.
Khairy had said that the high cost of treating diseases associated with smoking was among the factors that drove the government to initiate the bold move.
Associate Prof Dr Mohamad Haniki Nik Mohamed, who is the leader of Sustainable Smokefree Campus Community Flagship at the International Islamic University Malaysia, said GEG has what it takes to mitigate the onset of the smoking habit and use of tobacco products in a more comprehensive manner o