KUALA LUMPUR: The Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill 2023, which includes the generational end game smoking ban, will be tabled in Parliament today.
Under the bill, those who are born from 2007 onwards will not be allowed to sell, buy and use smoking products.
The first version of the bill, then named The Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022, was tabled in Parliament in July.
Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the "improved" bill was drafted following engagement sessions with stakeholders, including tobacco industry players.
She described the new bill as being more comprehensive and covered not just conventional smoking products but also next generation smoking products, including electronic and combustible cigarette products.
The ministry said society faced a critical situation with the increase in vape users and cigarette smokers.
It said many people were manipulated by the promises of the vape industry, claiming that its products were less dangerous compared with cigarettes.
This resulted in smokers using substitutes as an excuse to change to vaping from cigarettes.
"The phrase 'less dangerous' does not mean that it is completely safe from adverse health effects.
"It is still capable of damaging users' body without them realising it.
"It is more worrying when smoking electronic cigarettes or vaping is seen as cool and becomes popular.
"Society needs to realise that 'trending' does not mean that it must always be followed."
The culture of smoking electronic cigarettes or vaping has alarmed the health sector following the emergence of a new disease: E-Cigarette and Vaping Associated Lung Injuries (Evali).
The ministry said it had received 18 Evali cases and 20 other cases related to vaping since last year.
"The suffering of Evali patients is incomparable to the price they pay for smoking products.
"With the original goal of quitting smoking, they end up in a hospital bed instead."
This issue had always been a concern faced by parents as they worry about their children's fate, especially school students, the ministry said.
Despite being protected by rules, that lifeline too will be gone as soon as they reach adulthood.
"Smoking products are easy to find online and in grocery stores and vending machines.
"Youth can easily obtain the devices without having to go to the store and be checked for age."