It's D-day for the long-awaited "anti-smoking generational end game (GEG) bill", which finally saw the light of day in Parliament. No doubt, many smokers and vapers would have been secretly hoping that this day would never come, especially with ex-health minister Khairy Jamaluddin no longer in the mix - at least not in his capacity as a member of parliament (MP).
Nevertheless, after having undergone several changes, the much-awaited bill - initiated by KJ himself in 2022 - was tabled in Parliament by his successor Dr Zaliha Mustafa on 12 June 2023 as a new bill named "The Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill 2023."
Interestingly, even before Parliament's doors were opened, pro-nicotine lobbyists and sympathizers had already started turning up the heat!
PKR's Datuk R. Ramanan openly objected to the bill and argued that youths should be allowed to decide on the matter - just as they are now allowed to vote. This inevitably prompted ex-health minister KJ to reprimand him: "I really should have kicked your a**!" he snapped. The two rivals, of course, stood for election in GE15 in the Sungai Buloh constituency, which KJ eventually lost. Will the MP-turned-DJ have the last laugh, though?
Meanwhile, the shrewd, seasoned warrior from across the South China Sea, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, has also opened fire! Visibly upset at being called "enemy of public health" by KJ, he has promised to expose what the ex-health minister has been purportedly "smoking!" Unfortunately, KJ will not be in Parliament this time to defend himself.
Anyway, as the bill is tabled for first reading and pending debate, it's only fair that we pause and look at the spine-chilling data available on the subject of smoking and vaping in this country, as was meticulously reported by Galen Centre's Azrul Mohd Khalib in Malaysia Now.
Our smoking prevalence now hovers around 21% of the population, with almost half of all men in our country smoking. Furthermore, approximately 1% of our womenfolk and a disturbing 17.4% of kids aged between 13 to 15 are also believed to be smoking!
According to another survey in 2019, around 1.12 million people in our country were said to be vaping and using e-cigarettes. While yet another study revealed that about 600,000 people between the ages of 11 to 18 have already taken up vaping! God forbid it - but don't be shocked if our child or grandchild joins them anytime soon.
It's also no secret that vape and tobacco industry players have been targeting youths and children - making their products look increasingly cool and trendy. This is where GEG comes in; to ensure their craftily planned marketing strategy fails!
But what happens if the bill is not passed?
Well, according to the same report, for every RM1 collected from tax imposed on tobacco products, RM4 is spent on treating those suffering from chronic smoking and vape-related diseases such as lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - with an estimated 27,000 people losing their lives every year because of it.
That's not all; our government reportedly spends at least RM16 billion annually to treat patients with diseases caused by smoking and vaping. Now, isn't that worse than the billions lost due to financial scandals and corruption cases? And imagine our national debt is already said to have ballooned to RM1.5 trillion!
Even more distressing, if this bill is not passed, nicotine vaping will remain unregulated, unrestricted and uncontrolled. Soon we may see primary school pupils loitering outside vape shops smoking away without a care. Seriously, do we want that? Why, even the inside of our revered Parliament House might one day resemble a "smokehouse!"
True, the bill may have flaws, and some may claim it infringes on their civil liberty; but then again, we are in Malaysia. We are not in the United States, where their "civil liberty" laws allow people to carry guns and make vulgar, tasteless jokes about the misfortunes of others - regardless of whether their jokes "land" or not!
Actually, in essence, everything boils down to whether we are in favour of closing one eye to the harmful habit of nicotine addiction; or whether we are in favour of creating a progressive, disciplined and humane society which offers protection to pregnant women and children who are often left to suffer silently from inhaling toxic secondary smoke?
Meanwhile, another fascinating scenario awaits; will the MPs from PM Anwar's Madani government, emphasising "good values" and all that, collectively vote for the bill to be passed - or will they be voting based on their conscience? Strangely, Pakatan Harapan MPs have been largely silent on this issue.
As for the fiercely "religious and ethnocentric" Perikatan Nasional - how will its MPs vote when you consider that there is a fatwa (Islamic ruling) issued in 1995 by the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs of Malaysia that stated: "Smoking is forbidden in Islam because in it there is harm." Will they follow the fatwa or will they follow their leader?
Nicotine harms humans, especially children - so it should be straightforward. Well, not quite. Many of our MPs may find themselves in a one-of-a-kind dilemma when the crunch time comes. While some may consider the proposed legislation a much-needed game-changer, others may view it as a big gamble.
Still, we can only hope that they will put aside their fears, personal interests and partisan politics - and vote wisely (and in good faith) for the well-being of our country's future generations.
JK Joseph is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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