Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has unveiled plans for a complete smoking ban for the next generation of Malaysians, following New Zealand’s historic move to ban the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2008, reports Lowyat.

Khairy said that he would table a new Tobacco and Smoking Control Act in the upcoming Parliament meeting, which runs from 28 February to 24 March, to replace the current tobacco product control legislations under the Food Act 1983.
Calling it a “generation end-game” for smoking in the country, Khairy said the new bill will also regulate e-cigarettes and vape products, the report said. “For too long, our health care system has been burdened with health care issues resulting from smoking. This allocation will enable smoking to be phased out in stages until one day in future, Malaysia will be a smoke-free country,” he was quoted as saying.
Last month, New Zealand announced plans to gradually ban the sale of all cigarettes in the country, while still allowing current smokers to buy cigarettes by raising the legal smoking age every year. Singapore has expressed interest in a similar ban and will consider the implementation of New Zealand’s law.
According to the report, Khairy did not specify when the proposed legislation would come into effect, nor did he reveal the birth year from which the smoking ban would apply.
Malaysia’s efforts to curb smoking include a total ban for smoking in eateries, with more than 12,000 fines issued last year, the lowest amount since the policy was implemented in 2019, the report said.