PEOLE barred from buying cigarettes and vape products under the generational endgame (GEG) tobacco bill will not be jailed or be saddled with a criminal record if they violate the law, Health Ministry Khairy Jamaluddinsaid.

In a TikTok video post, he said offenders will receive a maximum fine of RM50.

“Even then, they can ask for a discount on the compound. And it will not be considered an offence that is recorded under the Registration of Criminals and Undesirable Persons Act 1969,” he said.

“The issue of a criminal record doesn’t arise. No criminal record or jail term for GEG offenders. Let’s get this bill passed.

Khairy’s post follows calls from the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) on Health, Science and Innovation to delay the bill aimed at prohibiting tobacco products to people born from on and after January 1, 2007.

Select committee chairman Dr Kelvin Yii, who is the Bandar Kuching MP, said this will give the government time to build a better enforcement framework.

He said the bill presents a number of provisions that are perceived to be too harsh, especially for low-income offenders and juveniles.

Proposed deterrent measures include imprisonment and body checks, which the committee feared could be abused by law enforcers.

The fine is RM5,000 if a person born after the stipulated date is caught buying, smoking or possessing tobacco and vape products.

Khairy also addressed criticism that the legislation known as the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill, will cause a rise in the smuggling and sale of contraband cigarettes.

“Illicit cigarettes are not a new thing and the government has always been tackling it. We will clamp down more forcefully on the illicit market and with better resources and coordination. 

“And logically, GEG will not add to the contraband market but will reduce demand for smoking among the next generations

“The market will grow smaller and smaller. When fewer people smoke, there will be fewer cigarettes in the market, whether legal or not,” he said.

The bill initially aimed to ban people born after 2005 from buying smoking products but the government amended the birth year to 2007.

Besides a fine of RM5,000 for individual buyers and users, those caught selling to the target group can be fined up to RM20,000 or jailed up to a year or both for the first offence. Repeat offenders can be fined up to RM30,000 or jailed up to two years or both. – July 30, 2022.