THE past couple of weeks, we have heard about an incoming tobacco ban for the future generation.

Proponents of this proposed law, spearheaded by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, are envisioning a generation of non-smokers.

Over-ambitious? 

If successful, Malaysia will be the first country in the world to end smoking, ahead of even New Zealand, the only other country enacting such a law. 

This, of course, has plenty of support from doctors and health advocacy groups.

The link between heart disease, hypertension and stroke and smoking is now well established.

It is also linked with 15 types of cancer, costing the government to double its RM5 billion tax bill it gets from tobacco per year, and doctors can safely attest to this now, a far cry from the 1950s when cigarette brands actually used medical professionals to promote smoking. 

However, the haste in which this is being pushed through is disconcerting.  

It is a brand-new bill, as legislation around tobacco has been centred around taxes and prohibition of sales to minors thus far. 

Compared with the New Zealand bill, which is an amendment to an existing law, MPs there were given four months to go through it. 

Considering the impact it would have on lives and livelihoods, perhaps it would be prudent to consider the consequences before enacting it. 

Personal and other considerations  

First, the impact on private life choices. The argument is, a person should be able to choose his or her vices, including those detrimental to health.

There are other substances injurious to health, arguably more widespread, such as sugar and unhealthy fat, which also give rise to disease and are a burden to the public health system.

Alcohol and recreational drugs are other such substances. Granted, tobacco is probably the more prevalent, rising and dangerous of the lot, but it is not the only one.

Arguments used to support the consumption of sugar in moderation, for example, can be extended to occasional cigar smoking, a regular practice by some after a meal. 

Second, the potential economic ramifications. 

The ban encompasses both smoking and vaping, based on the language and posture of the bill, something not even the New Zealand law aims to do. 

Apart from the tax collection, some 20 billion cigarettes are sold annually in Malaysia.

This RM4-billion industry also creates jobs and generates economic activity from production, import, logistics and warehousing, distribution retail, marketing and advertising.

Via sin tax and corporate social responsibility initiatives, the tobacco industry also contributes to sports development and other efforts.

The tobacco industry hires nearly 2,000 Malaysians directly, with an estimated tenfold, indirectly, while the vape industry estimating itself to be worth more than RM2 billion and employing directly and indirectly some 15,000 employees. 

Painting with the same brush 

This brings us to point number three, the inclusion of vaping. 

Should vaping even be placed under these strict restrictions? 

Last year, the UK’s National Health Service even considered prescribing medically approved vapes as studies indicated it a strong component of its Stop Smoking campaign – at 68%. 

Vaping is not proven to be linked to increased risks of disease in nearly the same magnitude as tobacco.  

The UK, too, is planning to go smoke-free, and its target is even more ambitious – by 2030, just eight years from now.

The two-pronged strategy it is considering, however, makes much more sense – to limit the places you are allowed to smoke and to increase the age limit of smokers gradually until it is phased out.  

Malaysia, on the other hand, has so far kept raising the cigarette tax, only increasing the number of illicit cigarettes, which now exceed the number of legal cigarettes, by about 6%.

For every 10 cigarettes consumed in Malaysia, 5.6 aren’t coming in via legal channels and, therefore, untaxed. 

Similarly, we see this failure in alcohol control, where consumption continues to rise despite heavy tax.

Neither do smokers care much for gory packaging, even if it eventually covers the whole box! – August 3, 2022.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.