Malaysia’s health minister rejects a tobacco ban based on religious grounds

Malaysia’s Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has rejected calls to ban cigarettes on Islamic grounds, according to the Malay Mail.

Responding to remarks made by a lawmaker at a party assembly on December 24, he said: “I am not a mufti, and I cannot declare cigarettes haram (forbidden).”

The exchange came after Malaysia passed new legislation regulating tobacco advertising, packaging, and smoking in public places, but it did not include a provision that would ban Malaysians born after 2007 from purchasing or using nicotine products.

The so-called generational endgame tobacco ban (GEG) was dropped after the Attorney General’s Chambers advised that it could violate the constitution because it would impose different rules on different age groups. Critics, however, argue that pressure from the tobacco industry drove Malaysia’s policy shift.

Ahmad had previously apologized for failing to retain the GEG in the tobacco law.