Malaysia Implements New Law: Prohibiting Minors From Purchasing And Using Tobacco And E-cigarette Products

Malaysia implements new law: prohibiting minors from purchasing and using tobacco and e-cigarette products

The new law, the Public Health Tobacco Control Products Act 2024, will prohibit the sale and purchase of tobacco and e-cigarettes to teenagers under the age of 18 to curb the use of e-cigarettes by teenagers.

According to MSN on June 3, Malaysian Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad recently said that the law prohibiting the sale and purchase of tobacco products, smoking supplies or alternative tobacco to minors under the age of 18 will be officially implemented this year. This move is included in the Public Health Tobacco Control Products Act 2024 (Act 852).

The bill was promulgated on February 2. According to the law, any smoking-related services provided to minors under the age of 18 will also be prohibited. The minister said that although the prevalence of smoking among children aged 13 to 17 has decreased, the use of e-cigarettes has increased.

Recently, the minister made it clear at the World No Tobacco Day Carnival: "This is a wake-up call. The provisions of the bill will be implemented to stop this situation."

The recent Malaysian National Health and Disease Survey pointed out that the tobacco use rate of teenagers aged 13 to 17 has dropped from 13.8% in 2017 to 6.2% in 2022. However, the use of e-cigarettes has increased from 9.8% in 2017 to 14.9% in 2022.

The minister pointed out that the Ministry of Health led by him will curb the use of smoking and e-cigarettes by young people by implementing this bill.