KUALA LUMPUR: The Advanced Centre for Addiction Treatment Advocacy (Acata) has called for the inclusion of comprehensive tobacco harm reduction measures in the upcoming Control of Smoking Products for Public Health 2024 (Act 852).
Drawing comparisons from New Zealand and Sweden from a recent report, Acata highlighted the potential of regulated harm reduction alternatives to significantly reduce smoking prevalence in Malaysia, ultimately saving thousands of lives.
Acata president Dr Arifin Fii said for nearly a decade, Malaysia's smoking prevalence has remained stagnant at about 20 per cent, posing significant public health challenges.
However, international examples demonstrate that strategic harm reduction initiatives can yield unprecedented declines in smoking rates.
"Acata believes Malaysia can achieve similar success by embracing a harm reduction approach and introducing supportive regulations for lower-risk alternatives like vaping," Dr Arifin said.
According to the Quitting Strong: New Zealand's Smoking Cessation Success Story, the legalisation and regulation of vaping as an adult consumer product in New Zealand in 2020 catalysed a remarkable 43 per cent decline in daily adult smoking rates, from 11.9 per cent in 2020 to 6.8 per cent in 2023.
New Zeland's goal of becoming smoke-free by 2025 is now within reach.
The study also showed that targeted and culturally appropriate campaigns had led to an unprecedented 41 per cent decline in daily smoking among Māori smokers, from 28.6 per cent in 2020 to 17.1 per cent in 2023.
"New Zealand government initiatives, such as the establishing the Vaping Facts education website, driving the Vape to Quit Strong campaign, and providing clear guidance for health professionals, were instrumental in this achievement.
"Similarly, Sweden experienced a significant 55% reduction in smoking rates over the last decade, dropping to 5.6 per cent. This decline was driven by the widespread adoption of snus (a smokeless oral tobacco product), the introduction of vaping in 2015, and nicotine pouches in 2018," Dr Arifin said.
"By looking at the success of countries like New Zealand and Sweden, we can see the transformative impact of providing smokers with lower-risk alternatives. Act 852 must be balanced to support harm reduction measures to effectively combat smoking prevalence in Malaysia," he added.