Smoking in Malaysia
In Malaysia, cigarettes are legally sold, purchased, smoked, and imported, but it is illegal to buy them from vending machines or online. Also, health warnings on packaging are mandatory, but there are no legal restrictions on smoking in public places. The minimum age to buy cigarettes is 18 years. The total taxation rate applied to cigarettes is 51.6% including a specific excise rate of 45.98%. Available data indicate that smoking remains prevalent in Malaysia with around 4.9 million current smokers recorded in 2024, representing an overall adults current smoking prevalence of 17.9%, 0.5% among females and 33.6% among males. In 2021, smoking-related deaths was approximately 24,100, which represented 10.75% of all deaths that year, 15.03% among males and 4.44% among females.
Read articles from Malaysia
February 26, 2024 by thesun.my
Call to reinstate nicotine in Poisons Act
Consumers Association of Penang calls for the reinstatement of nicotine under the Poisons Act due to the increasing vaping trend among Malaysian youth. CAP criticizes the ineffectiveness of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 and highlights the easy accessibility of vape products to school children. They attribute the rise in underage vaping to loopholes in the law and stress the harmful effects of nicotine. Additionally, CAP advocates for the enforcement of smoking zones and adherence to international standards for smoke-free environments to protect non-smokers' health.
December 14, 2023 by freemalaysiatoday.com
30% of e-cigarette smokers in Malaysia aged 12 to 15, says group
About 30% of the e-cigarette smokers in Malaysia are aged between 12 and 15 years, according to a regional anti-tobacco organisation. The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (Seatca) said the e-cigarette use prevalence among this age group in Malaysia is higher than teen smoking prevalence, which is 12.5% (10.8% boys and 1.7% girls). In contrast, the alliance said, the other countries in Asean, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Thailand, have banned these products along with about 40 other countries globally.
December 07, 2023 by themalaysianreserve.com
Illegal to sell nicotine products to minors after anti-smoking Bill passed – SFC
The High Court [...] was told that with the passing of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 in Dewan Rakyat last week, vendors are now forbidden from selling smoking products including vape and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) to minors. Senior federal counsel (SFC) Ahmad Hanir Hambaly said with the passing of the Bill on Nov 30, children under 18 now cannot smoke (nicotine-containing vape and e-cigarettes). “The sale and supply of poison including nicotine to children would be illegal as provided under Section 13 of the Bill.
November 29, 2023 by nst.com.my
Smoking control bill proposes ban on advertising, promotion of vape products
E-cigarettes or vape products can no longer be advertised, promoted or involved in sponsorship once the Control of Smoking Products For Public Health Bill 2023 comes into force. Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the provisions banning the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, which were already in force under existing laws, are now expanded to all products including e-cigarettes, tobacco products, smoking substances and substitute tobacco products. She said that Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the bill also require all importers and manufacturers of tobacco products to register each product produced for the Malaysian market.
November 27, 2023 by freemalaysiatoday.com
No more excuses, no more delays on Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill
This week, if all goes according to plan, the health ministry will once again attempt to finally table the Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill 2023 for debate and passage in the Dewan Rakyat. After several false starts and mishaps, this version of the proposed piece of omnibus legislation, previously known as the Tobacco And Smoking Control Bill and popularly known as the Generational Endgame (GEG) Bill, will be missing a key component. It will not feature any provision referencing the GEG. These have been removed or decoupled from the bill.
November 21, 2023 by thestar.com.my
Regulate vape, e-cigarettes immediately, says Hannah Yeoh
Vape and electronic cigarettes must be regulated immediately through future rules, says Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh. She said this is important not only for athletes but also for the community at large. Yeoh told the Dewan Rakyat that her ministry had gazetted complexes under its purview to be free of cigarette smoking and vaping. “This is in consideration of other existing tobacco control legislations stating that smoking is restricted in stadiums and sports areas,” she said during her ministry’s winding-up speech at the committee level on Tuesday (Nov 21).
November 07, 2023 by malaymail.com
MMA urges parents to sue govt if their children below 18 are harmed by e-cigarettes or vaping
The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has encouraged parents of children below 18-years-old harmed by e-cigarettes or vaping to consider taking legal action against the government. [...] “We urge parents of children below 18 whose health had been affected as a result of consuming e-cigarettes or vaping products, to consider taking legal action against the government for ignoring expert advice and for failing in its duties to adequately protect citizens, especially young children against the health dangers of vaping,” Dr Azizan said.
October 10, 2023 by galencentre.org
Why Are Ministers And MPs Silent On Liquid Nicotine Delisting? – Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
The delisting of liquid nicotine is morally dehumanising and Islamically wrong! The health minister is now facing a lawsuit brought against her by the Malaysian Council for Tobacco Council (MCTC), the Malaysian Green Lung Association (MGLA), and Voice of the Children (VOC) over the delisting of liquid and gel nicotine used in e-cigarettes and vaporisers as a scheduled poison from the Poisons Act, 1952.
September 08, 2023 by freemalaysiatoday.com
NGOs fail in bid to stay delisting of liquid nicotine
The Kuala Lumpur High Court has rejected the bid by anti-tobacco and child rights interest groups to stay the declassification of liquid nicotine as a scheduled poison. The Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control, the Malaysian Green Lung Association, and Voice of the Children had sought a judicial review to quash the removal of liquid and gel nicotine from control under the Poisons Act 1952, gazetted by the health minister in an exemption order on March 31. According to CodeBlue, Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said the applicants needed to demonstrate special circumstances to justify the stay of the exemption order.
August 30, 2023 by malaymail.com
Penang consumer group push for ban on vape, e-cigarettes
The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) today urged the government to ban vape and e-cigarettes amid continued debate over a move that aims to end the habit among future generations of Malaysians. CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader said there are now two million vape smokers in the country. “According to the latest National Health and Morbidity Survey 2022, Malaysian teens aged 13 to 17 using e-cigarettes and vape rose from 9.8 per cent in 2017 to 14.9 per cent in 2022,” he said in a press conference at the CAP office here.