MOH IMPLEMENTS VARIOUS EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE SMOKE-FREE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVE

KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Health (MOH) is continuing to strive towards achieving the goal of a smoke-free community through various approaches and programmes even though the Generational Endgame (GEG) policy was dropped from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852) which came into effect on Oct 1 last year.

MOH said among the efforts is the implementation of a five-year advocacy plan covering prevention, promotion, screening and intervention for all Malaysians starting from pre-school, schools, universities and the community to ensure that those under the age of 18 remain smoke-free.

“This initiative is carried out through collaboration with various ministries, government and private agencies, professional bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This implementation plan has also been extended to target teenagers who are not furthering their education.

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"In addition, several advocacy activities are also being carried out, including prevention and intervention for teenagers, such as the Oral Health Programme Without Smoking (KOTAK) for primary and secondary school students," the ministry said in a written response on the Dewan Negara website today.

This is in response to a question raised by Senator Musoddak Ahmad who wanted to know what the government's stance is on re-evaluating the GEG Policy in order to reduce the risk of disease caused by the harmful effects of smoking.

The Ministry of Health also announced that it is also collaborating with the Ministry of Education in providing training to counselling teachers and Drug Prevention Education (PPDa) teachers to handle students who are involved in smoking.

Enforcement under Section 13 of Act 852 prohibits the sale of smoking products to teenagers, while Section 17 of Act 852 prohibits individuals who are still minors from consuming smoking products, including electronic cigarettes or vapes.

-- BERNAMA