KUALA LUMPUR: Experts said the government should not rush into pushing for the implementation of the proposed Generational End Game (GEG) policy, which aims at eliminating smoking habits among future generations.
Johor Baru Monash University clinical school deputy head Assoc Prof Dr Sivakumar Thurairajasingam said he feared the government could stand a chance of "making a mistake" in the event they rush into passing the GEG, otherwise known as the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022, in the Parliament.
"Once we rush into it, then we stand a chance of making a mistake. What we should do is work towards it," said Dr Sivakumar, who had experience serving in the Permai Hospital's substance abuse unit.
He added that the government should not be afraid of including tobacco harm reduction in its smoking cessation efforts among people in the country.
Sivakumar was of the view that tobacco harm reduction would not overtake, but instead complement the GEG policy.
"Nicotine is the most addictive substance in the world. Because of this, there will always be a certain population of people who cannot simply stop smoking cigarettes.
"It is not because they do not want to, but because they are unable to do so. The government should consider providing them (existing smokers) with options (alternatives to help them quit the habit)," he said.
Sivakumar expressed worry that there would be a recurrence of a setback seen during the country's battle against the abuse of opioids.
"I have been in the world of harm reduction since the opioid problem. Did people actually stop heroin abuse when we (the country) said no to the abuse of the substance without providing alternatives?
"The answer is no. What had happened was, there was illicit, black market heroin (smuggled into the country), which subsequently led to the rise of HIV-transmission and Hepatitis C cases (from unsafe injections). The problem was so huge that we had to introduce harm reduction," he said.
Earlier last month, Sivakumar was among some 20 speakers who spoke during the E-Cigarettes Summit held at the Royal College of Physicians in London.
During his session on nicotine and tobacco control in low and medium-income countries, Sivakumar said the Malaysian population was ready to consider tobacco harm reduction as a step towards ending the smoking of conventional cigarettes in the country.
He had said this based on the survey titled: An Insight on Tobacco Harm Reduction in 2021 conducted by Datametrics Research & Information Centre (DARE).
Among the findings of the survey, 80 per cent of the respondents believed that the adoption of tobacco harm reduction strategies would help smokers quit traditional cigarettes.
The survey also showed that 58 per cent of the respondents did not think that the government was actively developing tobacco harm reduction strategies.
Sivakumar said in order for the smoking cessation efforts to achieve their targets, the government needs to formulate and implement policies tailored to the country's situation instead of introducing policies implemented in other countries.
"We cannot copy what other countries have done," he said.
Other speakers who spoke at the summit included New Zealand's Action for Smokefree 2025 (ASH) director Ben Youdan.
During his session on "New Zealand's tobacco endgame policies: Cause to celebrate, or harmful folly?" Youdan shared with the audience how the prevalence of smoking dropped while vaping had seen an increase among adults over the past two years in the country, even before de-nicotinisation policy was in place.
"I am not necessarily opposing endgame policies.
"We need to be honest about the things that changed (reduced) smoking habits in the country since people are looking to us for leadership and to replicate the policies implemented in New Zealand," Youdan said.
During an interview with Bernama Radio last month, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the ministry would re-examine the GEG policy in terms of implementation of the law. She added that the ministry would not be drastic when making its decision on the GEG policy.
Among other things, the GEG law will prohibit the sale and use of any form of smoking-related products, including electronic cigarettes, to people born from Jan 1, 2007, onwards.
The bill was tabled by Dr Zaliha's predecessor, Khairy Jamaluddin, on July 27 for the first reading but was later referred to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee for fine-tuning.