The rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Malaysia highlights a critical issue for public health, particularly when the population of today's youth is now exposed and is being conditioned to accept the normalisation of tobacco products and electronic devices (vapes). The government has gazetted Act 852, the Smoking Products Control for Public Health Act 2024 as an intervention measure. This research is to examine the attitude, level of support and beliefs of youth towards the implementation of Act 852 in Malaysia. The method of this study is a quantitative method by using questionnaire techniques online. The total number of youth respondents interviewed was 150, ranging in age from 18 to 30 years, and selected through purposive sampling techniques, which was determined by them being representative across the different demographics that the policy seeks to address. The results indicate a very high level of support for the Act 852 (94.0%) and 95.3% of respondents indicated that they would act according to the regulations. 68.7% of respondents believe this act is an important tool to ensure future public health. But the trust gap in enforcement exists as 58.0% of respondents feel that access to smoking products in the market is still easy. The study findings indicate that in principle, this policy is well received, however, there is still a need to enhance the enforcement mechanisms to attain the goals of Act 852 without compromising.
Abas, M. F., Salleh, R., & Ismail, Z. (2024). Policy paternalism and youth compliance: Evaluating the social legitimacy of public health acts in Southeast Asia. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 13(2), 145–159.
Nasir, A. M., & Rahman, S. A. (2025). Shifting landscapes of youth nicotine addiction: Post-pandemic challenges in Malaysian health policy. Malayan Medical Journal, 40(1), 34–48.
Sari, D. P., & Wong, L. Y. (2024). Beyond symbolic laws: Assessing the structural justice of tobacco control legislation among Gen-Z and Millennials. Asian Journal of Public Policy, 16(3), 289–306.
Aly, A. S., Mamikutty, R., & Marhazlinda, J. (2022). Association between harmful and addictive perceptions of e-cigarettes and e-cigarette use among adolescents and youth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Children, 9(11), 1678. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9111678
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Youth and tobacco use. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/index.htm
De Silva. (2024). Impact of global smoking prevalence on mortality. BMC Public Health, 24, 1786. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19271-6
Global Tobacco Control Monitor. (2023). Digital loopholes: How online retail and runner networks circumvent tobacco control in developing markets. Tobacco Control Policy Reports, 8(4), 210–225.
Institute for Public Health Malaysia. (2023). National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023. Ministry of Health Malaysia.
Lim, K. H. (2022). Association between smoking and mortality among Malaysian adults. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 20, 21. https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/144785
Lim, K. H. (2025). Sources of cigarettes for youth smokers in Malaysia. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 23, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/201987
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2021). Regulatory enforcement and compliance: Insights from OECD country reviews. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/3f9b8b8e-en
Nasir, A. M., & Rahman, S. A. (2025). Shifting landscapes of youth nicotine addiction: Post-pandemic challenges in Malaysian health policy. Malayan Medical Journal, 40(1), 34–48.
Rahman, J. A. (2019). The prevalence of e-cigarette use among adults in Malaysia. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 31(7_suppl), 9S–21S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539519834735
Sari, D. P., & Wong, L. Y. (2024). Beyond symbolic laws: Assessing the structural justice of tobacco control legislation among Gen-Z and Millennials. Asian Journal of Public Policy, 16(3), 289–306.
Schneider, A., & Ingram, H. (1993). Social construction of target populations: Implications for politics and policy. American Political Science Review, 87(2), 334–347. https://doi.org/10.2307/2939044
World Bank. (2020). Confronting illicit tobacco trade: A global review of country experiences. World Bank Group. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/33309
World Health Organization. (2023). Tobacco: Key facts. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
World Health Organization. (2024). Global tobacco report 2024. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240088283
Misman, L. H., & Tanesab, J. P. (2026). The Analysis of Youth Perspectives on the Implementation of Act 852: Smoking Products Control for Public Health Act 2024 in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 16(5), 952–968.
Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
