Even NZ thinking twice now Khairy, so please don’t try
Published on: Sunday, April 24, 2022
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The proposal was applauded by public health non-governmental organisations concerned about the high prevalence of tobacco consumption in Malaysia.
Despite the numerous laws introduced by the Health Ministry since 2004, the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019 showed that there are 4.8 million smokers in Malaysia versus 4.7 million in 2011.
Despite the Health Ministry having the power to act against cigarettes sold below the minimum retail price, six out of 10 packs are sold below the official price of RM12 per pack of 20 sticks.
Now, the Health Ministry is seeking to table a new law in Parliament that discriminates against adults based on their birth year.
Anyone born on or before Dec 31, 2004 is allowed to buy tobacco products, while anyone with the misfortune to be born one minute later will be banned from making an adult lifestyle choice.
From Dec 15 last year, the legal age to vote in elections was reduced to 18, allowing adults to choose their representatives in Parliament and state assemblies. But soon, the same 18-year-olds will not be able to buy a packet of tobacco products.
The older generation has always tried to control the generation after them on the basis of “I now know better”. This led to the ban on rock music and long hair in the 1980s, rap music in the 1990s, black metal in the 2000s and so on. It is like having schoolteachers scold us for playing football in the rain and mud.
If tobacco products can be made illegal for anyone born after 2005, what prevents the health minister from extending the prohibition to other unpopular products, such as sugary drinks or alcohol?
Malaysia has the highest prevalence of obesity among adults in Southeast Asia. According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019, 50.1 per cent of our adult population were reported to be overweight (30.4 per cent) or obese (19.7 per cent).
The health minister should ban sugary drinks and alcohol from being consumed by adults while he is working on protecting future generations from tobacco products.
The “Generational End Game” policy institutionalises discrimination for an entire generation of Malaysians born after 2005. Given the lackadaisical enforcement of minimum age laws, which incidentally is also the responsibility of the Health Ministry, tobacco will still be consumed by people born after 2005.
Will retail workers ask a person who clearly looks like an adult for his identity card when he purchases a tobacco product? Suddenly, a person who wants to buy a packet of cigarettes is now a criminal and subject to penalties.
If the policy is implemented, Malaysia will be the first country in the world to enact such a law.
Even New Zealand, where the idea was proposed after years of studies and public health campaigns, has yet to draft such a legislation for its Parliament.
Malaysians deserve better than to be experimented with an untested policy that is entirely alien to the freedoms of being Malaysian.
Economics Fan
- The views expressed here are the views of the writer Economics Fan and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express.
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