SEPANG: The bill to prohibit the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products to those born after 2005 will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat in July, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said today.
He added that the bill was currently being finalised by the attorney-general’s chambers (AGC) and would be ready in two weeks.
“Our intention is to ban, henceforth, the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2005.
“When the bill is ready to be tabled, I will first submit it to the parliamentary select committee on health, science and innovation,” he said at a press conference after launching MyChampion, a community health initiative.
On Jan 26, while speaking at the 150th session of the World Health Organization’s executive board meeting in Geneva, Khairy said the country hoped to pass a legislation to bring about a “generation endgame to smoking”.
The health ministry later confirmed that the legislation would also prohibit the sale of vape and e-cigarettes to those born after 2005.
Speaking on MyChampion, Khairy said it stands for Malaysian Health Community Agent, with volunteers trained in healthy living culture, new practices, vaccination, and environmental sustainability care.
He added that the initiative would play an important role as the country begins its transition to the endemic phase from next month.
“A total of 7,000 volunteers were appointed last year from various agencies. This year, the health ministry targets to train another 10,000 volunteers.”
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