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Tag: Malaysia

  • Malaysia: Illicit Cigarette Prevalence Drops

    Malaysia: Illicit Cigarette Prevalence Drops

    nikkytok

    Illicit cigarette prevalence in Malaysia has dropped by 6.5 percentage points from 63.8 percent in 2020, according to Nielsen’s Illicit Cigarettes Study in Malaysia 2021, reports The New Straits Times.

    This is the first time since 2014 that illicit cigarette prevalence has registered a decline.

    “This indicates that the measures announced by the finance minister in Budget 2021 are starting to bear results,” said a Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers (CMTM) spokesperson. “This is an encouraging development, and CMTM urges the government and all stakeholders to continue all efforts to curb the illicit cigarette trade.”

    Malaysia is the number one country for illegal cigarettes, even with the decline. Smuggling syndicates are reacting to Budget 2021 measures by using new methods to illegally import cigarettes into the country.

  • Malaysians Skeptical About Generational Tobacco Ban

    Malaysians Skeptical About Generational Tobacco Ban

    Photo: tktktk

    Malaysians are skeptical about the effectiveness of a plan to prohibit the sale of tobacco and vapor products to those born after 2005, according to a survey by the Retail and Trade Brand Advocacy (RTBA) Malaysia Chapter that was relayed the New Straits Times.

    In January, Malaysia’s health minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, said he wanted to ban smoking for the next generation of Malaysians, following the example of New Zealand, which announced a similar policy in December.

    Eighty-five percent of respondents to the RTBA survey said the ban would not work and would create a black market for cigarettes and vape products. They also said that the ban would be difficult to enforce and ultimately impact Malaysia’s legal and local businesses.

    “Banning is not a solution,” said RTBA Malaysia managing director Fazli Nordin. “For example, vape products containing nicotine are currently prohibited from being sold in the market. Yet there is consumer demand for vape products containing nicotine. Worst still is the tobacco black market, where Malaysia has the highest level of illegal cigarettes in the world, driven by the huge price gap between legal and illegal products.”

    Nearly 1,200 Malaysians participated in the survey by RTBA Malaysia, which is a non-governmental organization that safeguards businesses from criminal conduct.

    While Malaysia’s plans were inspired by New Zealand’s, they differ in that New Zealand does not plan a ban on vapor products, according to Fazli.

    “Instead, the country promotes vape as a less harmful alternative and encourages New Zealanders to make the switch from traditional cigarettes,” he said.

    A recent study revealed that encouraging smokers to switch to vape as a less harmful alternative would help Malaysia reduce the smoking population to 4 million by 2025.

    The report estimated that such a strategy would help the country to reduce its spending on treating smoking-related diseases by MYR1.3 billion ($310.21 million) in 2025.

     

  • Malaysia Mulls Age-Based Tobacco Ban

    Malaysia Mulls Age-Based Tobacco Ban

    Photo: sezerozger

    Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin wants to ban smoking for the next generation of Malaysians, according to reports by Lowyat and Code Blue. The plan comes in the wake of New Zealand’s announcement that it would prohibit the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2008.

    Jamaluddin plans to table a new Tobacco and Smoking Control Act at the upcoming Parliament meeting from Feb. 28 to March 24, which will replace the current tobacco product control legislation under the Food Act 1983.

    The bill will also regulate e-cigarettes and vape products, according to Jamaluddin, who called the bill a “generation endgame.”

    “For too long, our healthcare system has been burdened with healthcare issues resulting from smoking,” said Jamaluddin. “This allocation will enable smoking to be phased out in stages until one day in [the] future, Malaysia will be a smoke-free country.”

    A date for the proposed legislation has not been specified nor has a cutoff year of birth for the cohort smoking ban.

  • Malaysia Postpones E-Liquid Tax

    Malaysia Postpones E-Liquid Tax

    Photo: Holger

    The government of Malaysia has postponed implementation of a new tax on e-liquids following complaints from vapor companies and consumers, according to The Malaysia Reserve.

    The proposal called for a duty of MYR1.20 ($0.29) per ml of vape liquid or gel, which could have more than doubled the retail prices of bottles for open-systems.

    “We are not surprised by this deferment, considering the blowback from vape industry players and consumers over the high duty rate,” said CGS-CIMB Securities analyst Kamarul Anwar.

    Vapor companies said the tax would make e-cigarettes more expensive than tobacco cigarettes and force the industry to compete with much-less expensive black market products.

    “The tax rates implemented should be made with proportional risks of the product benefits to the hardcore smoking community,” Malaysian Vape Industry Advocacy President Rizani Zakaria told The New Straits Times in October.

    The proposal also ran into opposition from medical groups. “The taxation levels for tobacco harm reduction products in Malaysia must remain risk-proportionate, benchmarked against high-risk products such as cigarettes,” Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Associations Malaysia president Steven Chow said in a statement last November.

    Malaysia currently prohibits nicotine sales for non-medical purposes. Earlier this year, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin informed the World Health Organization that the country would legalize and regulate vaping products to prevent youth access.