THE government has agreed to reduce the fines stated in the proposed control of tobacco product and smoking bill 2022 from RM5,000 to RM500, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

“We will also remove the offence of possession of tobacco and related products,” he said, while tabling the bill for second reading in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Reducing the fines will affect sections 13 and 17 of the proposed bill, he said, adding that the government will insert community service in lieu of fines.

Aside from which, Khairy said he will also amend the bill to include a new clause under section 32 that prohibits body searches on children under 18 years old.

He said the Ministry of Health will set up an independent committee to review the bill.

Khairy said the government has also agreed to set a mandatory evaluation period by an independent committee to review the law and table a report on its effectiveness before the generational endgame is enforced in 2025.

“The independent committee will report to the Dewan Rakyat instead of the Ministry of Health,” he said.

The amendments, said Khairy, come after engagements with the special select committees for health, science and innovation, and women and children’s affairs.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health tabled for first reading the tobacco product and smoking control bill 2022, which provided for a ban on individuals born from 2007 onwards from smoking, buying or possessing tobacco products or smoking devices.

According to section 17 of the bill, no one born from January 1, 2007, onwards is allowed to smoke, or use or possess any tobacco-related device.

In this first draft, the government originally proposed fines of up to RM5,000 for offenders.

Similarly, it will be an offence to purchase any tobacco-related product for anyone underage. – August 1, 2022.