E-cigarettes in Malaysia

Malaysia: Deputy finance minister Steven Sim said yesterday that tax on e-cigarette products can be implemented once the Ministry of Health has finished examining the legal issues around vaping, press reports. “There may be an announcement in the Budget,” Sim added.

Malaysia: Answering a parliamentary question, the health minister Zaliha Mustafa said yesterday that she intends soon to reintroduce the 2022 Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill, which would ban the sale of vaping products to anyone born after 1st January 2007, “so enforcement can begin in 2024”.

Malaysia: New health minister Zaliha Mustafa has said she plans to reintroduce the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill 2022 in the first sitting of Parliament next year, press reports. The bill proposes a ban on the sale and use of vaping products to those born on or after 1st January 2007. Mustafa has also said she needs to review certain aspects of the bill, such as its implementation and timeline.

Malaysia: Caretaker minister of health Khairy Jamaluddin said today that if the National Front (Barisan Nasional) wins the upcoming general elections, to be held on 19th November, and he is reappointed to the post, he will reintroduce the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill 2022, popularly known as the Generational End Game Bill, press reports. He added that if the Alliance of Hope, currently the largest opposition group, wins the elections, former health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad will also ensure that the bill is tabled. Dzulkefly was a member of the parliamentary committee reviewing the bill, which proposes a ban on the sale of vaping products based on the potential purchaser’s birthdate. An analysis of the impact of the Malaysian elections on the sector is available in our Policy Radar.

Malaysia: A parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) tabled a statement in parliament today on the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill 2022, agreeing that the proposed Generational Endgame ban on the sale of tobacco and vaping products is constitutional, and that a separate regulation for non-combustible alternatives is not required. Among proposed amendments, the PSSC has agreed to drop the provision banning the possession of vaping products. The likelihood of the bill passing remains unclear, due to reported speculation that Parliament will be dissolved soon to make way for general elections.