KUALA LUMPUR: The ban on tobacco product display, plain packaging and the sale of cigarettes and vaping products to those born after 2005 will have a negative impact on the businesses moving forward.
The Federation of Sundry Goods Merchants Associations of Malaysia (FSGM) has expressed deep concern on the recent announcement by the health minister Khairy Jamaluddin that the ministry of health (MoH) is planning to introduce a tobacco product display ban, plain packaging and banning the sale of cigarettes and vaping products to those born after 2005.
FSGM president Hong Chee Meng said these acts would certainly negatively impact businesses, and governments need to look at the impact more broadly.
"We have not had any engagement with the MoH on these proposals. However, the proposed tobacco product display ban will add complexity to a straightforward business process.
"We will need to make changes to the current display cabinets—a cost we must consider, particularly when the economy is sluggish, and inflation is rising. It is not an ideal situation for businesses," said Hong in a statement today.
According to Hong, banning the sale of cigarettes and vaping products to adults born after 2005, plain packaging, and product display bans will impact the industry, and it could lead to a severe illicit cigarette trade, which is now dominating more than half of the overall market.
"With Malaysia remaining the number one country for illegal cigarettes in the world, the government should focus on addressing this problem before implementing any new action.
"The illicit cigarette situation is already severe with six out of ten sticks on the market being smuggled cigarettes. Introducing plain packaging for tobacco products will lead to an additional form of illicit cigarettes and counterfeits.
"Simultaneously, smuggled cigarettes will not comply with the requirements, leading consumers further away from legal products. Therefore, he said that only the illicit cigarette trade will benefit from this action and that consumers will continue to use illegal products," he said.
Retailers are fully implementing the ban against sales to those under 18.
"This is simple as it is usually obvious whether a purchaser is underaged. However, with the ban on selling cigarettes and vaping products to adults born after 2005, retailers will have to check the birthdates of even adults," Hong said.
"We are concerned about the potential burden and liability of our members. The duty to implement the bank will fall on retailers. They will need to check the birthdates of every adult purchaser to determine whether they were born before or after 2005. In addition, this will
make transactions longer and potentially lead to arguments with purchasers." Hong added.
He said if the MoH intends to stop people smoking, the first action should be to stop illegal cigarettes.
"MoH should ramp up the enforcement with the specific power under their Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004 before introducing new policies that will only cause more burden to legitimate businesses and further fuel the illicit cigarette trade in Malaysia," Hong said.