PUTRAJAYA, Oct 4 — The Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act (Act 582), which came into effect on October 1, is set to help reduce Malaysia’s conventional smoking rate by 2025, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Citing the 2023 Global Adult Tobacco Survey, Dzulkefly stated that the number of conventional smokers in the country currently stands at 19 per cent.

"We aim to bring this number down to 15 per cent by the end of 2025,” he said.

"In the 2011 report, the prevalence was at 24 per cent and it was reduced by five per cent in the 2023 report,” he told reporters at a media briefing on Act 852 at the Health Ministry today.

Dzulkefly, however, said while progress has been made in curbing conventional smoking, there has been a significant rise in e-cigarette usage.

Based on the data, there were only 0.8 per cent of e-cigarette users in Malaysia in 2011, but the number rose to 5.8 per cent in the 2023 report.

As for e-cigarettes, Dzulkefly acknowledged the difficulty in setting a reduction target due to the lack of baseline data, but expressed optimism that the new law and related initiatives would help curb usage.

The act, which was gazetted on February 2, officially came into force on October 1, after months of preparation.

Dzulkefly said the delay in implementation was to ensure the law was robust.

"The team has worked diligently to ensure all areas of the regulation are addressed. It may not be perfect, but we are still open to suggestions for improvement,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Health Director-General (Public Health) Datuk Dr Norhayati Rusli said the enforcement of the new Act will be introduced in phases to ensure that all stakeholders, including the public, are well-informed and ready for the regulations.

"We aim to educate the public and break the smoking habits, not to punish them with fines.”

She said the top priority of the Act is to curb smoking habits among the public and prevent the sale and promotion of smoking products to minors through law enforcement.

The Act involves various aspects of smoking products including, sales and promotion, packaging and labelling as well as point-of-sale display.

While the prohibition on smoking and vaping in certain areas is in force now, other aspects of the law will be enforced in phases over the next six to 12 months.

The educational enforcement phase was introduced to give the stakeholders a grace period to understand and prepare for the law before its full implementation.