IPOH, May 30 — The Consumer Choice Centre (CCC) today urged the government to reconsider the decision to table the Control of Tobacco Products and Smoking Bill 2022 in the current parliamentary meeting.

CCC representative Tarmizi Anuwar said the Bill, which includes a generational endgame (GEG) policy, needed further examination as it involved matters of consumer choice.

"It is time for the government to stop dictating consumers on what can be done and what cannot be done. All consumers have a fundamental interest in defending personal and civic freedoms.

"Therefore, they should be given a personal choice to decide what works for them without excessive intervention,” he said in a statement.

Tarmizi said consumers instead needed intelligent regulations that would protect rather than restrict them, as issues such as smoking and vaping were multifaceted.

"Government should educate consumers with factual and accurate information rather than spreading myths or false information on topics like vaping being supposedly more dangerous than cigarettes.

"Many internationally recognised scientific studies have concluded that switching completely to vaping provides important health benefits instead of continuing to smoke,” he said.

He also said research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London in September 2022 found vaping to cause significantly lower exposure to toxins that cause cancer, lung disease, and cardiovascular disease compare to smoking.

Tarmizi also said the government should focus on consumer safety when dealing with this matter.

"This is because the illegal cigarette incidence in Malaysia is high at 56.6 per cent according to the recent Illegal Cigarette Study by Nielsen IQ.

"This is worrying as these illegal products contain harmful substances unsuitable for human consumption. In addition, these illegal cigarettes are easily accessible to teenagers as they are sold in mom-and-pop shops or online,” he said.

Tarmizi said the government should prioritise the combatting of this problem rather than approving a Bill that may lead to a hike in illegal products.

"Minors should not be allowed to vape or smoke. In order to avoid or reduce the risk of this happening, the government needs to ensure age verifications at point of sale are enforced to prevent minors from purchasing the products,” he added.

Last Monday, the Ministry of Health said it was ready to table the Bill in the current parliamentary meeting.

The Bill, which seeks to ban the use, possession and sale of cigarettes and vape products to those born after 2007, was introduced by former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin last year.

It was referred to a parliamentary select committee after several MPs raised concerns over some areas of overreach, including complaints that it could be unconstitutional as it meant youths would have no freedom of choice over smoking.