Govt violated WHO tobacco control agreement, says KJ

Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said he had predicted that the generational endgame tobacco bill would not make it through Parliament due to the influence of a minister he would not name. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: The government’s statement that pressure and lobbying from tobacco and vape industry players influenced the “decision” on the generational endgame (GEG) tobacco bill proves that Malaysia has violated the international tobacco control agreement, says former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

According to Khairy, Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control states that any country involved in the agreement must ensure their public health policies are protected from the vested interests of commercial firms and the tobacco industry.

In an episode of his “Keluar Sekejap” podcast, Khairy said the statement by deputy health minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni is an acknowledgement that the government has succumbed to the lobby of Big Tobacco, and the interests of major tobacco and vape companies.

He said the statement proved the government’s decision has less to do with Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh claiming the GEG provisions were unconstitutional for not offering the right to equal protection under the law.

Malaysia has been a member of the convention since Dec 15, 2005.

On Thursday, Lukanisman said pressure from tobacco and vape industry players influenced the “decision” on the bill.

Responding to a call by PN’s Kapar MP, Dr Halimah Ali, for Putrajaya to have greater political will to resist lobbying from tobacco and vape industry players, Lukanisman said the government “needed the cooperation and support of all parties”.

He cited Putrajaya’s experience in tabling the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill, within which initially were the GEG components that sought to ban smoking and vaping for those born after 2007.

First tabled by Khairy when he was the health minister in July 2022, the bill was held up due to resistance from several MPs over its content.

At the time, the health parliamentary committee was asked to address these issues. It was re-tabled in June last year after the general election in November 2022 but, once again, the bill was referred to the health parliamentary committee.

Khairy said that during his time as the minister, he predicted that the tobacco industry would influence government decisions.

“After the government changed, (an MP) became a minister … I knew that when this person became a minister, GEG would die because Big Tobacco has not just penetrated MPs but has penetrated the Cabinet itself,” he said.

Earlier, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy CEO Azrul Khalib said the government’s admission in the Dewan Rakyat was “shocking”.

However, he said, public health advocates remained undeterred and would try again to propose the GEG as an amendment to the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act.