MANUFACTURERS only respond by perhaps changing the composition of cigarettes, or making them thinner or shorter. 

Singapore, the United States and even the Philippines have all raised the legal smoking age to 21. Malaysia, despite all the present hue and cry, has not, when it did so for liquor in 2017. 

The wisdom in raising the legal age of tobacco consumption therefore makes plenty of sense.   

So as the wisdom in not including vaping in the zero-smoking strategy. 

This does three things: it provides an alternative for smokers, an arguably, scientifically proven, less detrimental one.  

Second, it provides an economic opportunity to fulfil the direct vacuum created by removing tobacco products, allowing current players to pivot in, and even collaborate, buy out, or merge with vape industry players, which Malaysia is a relative trailblazer in. 

Third, it sustains the peripheral businesses, jobs, tax revenue corporate social responsibility, and other initiatives that can be now redirected to this enlarged industry. 

Strong arm v guiding hand 

The emphasis on strict personal liability by imposing penalties on the individual is also what sets our bill apart from the New Zealand one, which places more burden on the retailer. This makes sense, as cutting off the supply would be more prudent than attempting to disrupt demand. 

Time and time again we have shown – from the tobacco industry itself, to drugs and even prostitution – that banning something in Malaysia doesn’t really work, but only drives consumers underground, carrying with it the risk of being clandestine and unregulated, making it potentially even more detrimental to health than the present. 

Education and weaning-off programmes in Malaysia, perhaps, could be realigned to fit with the times.

We have several factors that should actually make it easier to attain the success rates of the Philippines or the United Kingdom in this regard. 

Compared with the UK, we have one month per year, where the majority of Malaysians observe a fast, including from tobacco, for 12 hours a day.  

Compared with the Philippines, we have a higher education level, especially on the B40 end of the curve, which constitutes the majority of smokers.  

Have we really exhausted our steps? 

Enforcement of underaged smoking should be carried out, with at least the same fervour as the flouting of the mask rule at the height of the pandemic last year.

Enlargement of no-smoking zones, and the enforcement of the same, along the lines of making hospitals and clinics smoke-free zones.  

Perhaps deputised or delegated duties are the way to go, in similar respect to fire marshals in our high-rise buildings, or auxiliary policemen issuing summonses on traffic offences. Incentivise buildings to be smoke-free, just as we do them for being ESG-compliant. 

Further criminalise cigarette supplying in schools, by making larger school zones as zero-cigarette-sales zones, and eventually extending this to educational institutions, sports facilities and so on. 

That the new law also empowers officers to search private facilities and digital devices is equally alarming.

Although this is very much the present vein of legal drafting on new enforcement laws, that smoking is being considered as serious as sedition or corruption – at least in investigative and forensic terms – is unsettling. Such provisions do not exist in the New Zealand legislation, and for perfect reason.

This way, you can curtail the growth of smokers, even reduce them gradually, and encourage them to move on to less hazardous indulgences without completely making the cut-off decision on behalf of a future generation. 

At the very least, the government owes an ear to all stakeholders, and should subject this law to several law-making and non-law-making committees, before making a decision on behalf of Malaysians and future Malaysians. – August 10, 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.