British American Tobacco Malaysia - Regulation
Our experience and expertise means that we have much to offer governments and regulators when it comes to helping develop policies around tobacco.
BAT Malaysia supports tobacco and nicotine regulation that are aligned to preserving shareholder value. This includes regulation that:
- is based on robust evidence
- respects consumer legal rights
- effectively delivers intended policy goals; and
- avoids the growth of illicit product trade.
Malaysia’s tobacco policy is anchored in the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024, a key policy development since the country ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005. We support Malaysia’s legal framework objectives to protect public health through the regulation of all tobacco and nicotine products.
What can we do?
Being a responsible tobacco company, we support regulation that is based on robust global evidence and thorough research. We respect the freedom of choice of individuals and their legal rights to enjoy legal smoking products.
In order to have effective regulations on tobacco products, there should be consultation between the Government and the tobacco industry. We want to contribute to the debate, offer information, ideas and real examples to help regulators address the key issues facing all parties concerned in the retail ecosystem.
From our global experience, we can offer evidence of how regulation without holistic and consistent enforcement can have unintended negative consequences. For example, steep increase to excise duties had led to in-market illegal cigarette penetration to >50% since 2010.
Integrity
BAT Malaysia’s culture of integrity is anchored in the BAT Group’s Standards of Business Conduct (SoBC). BAT Malaysia is also a signatory of the Malaysian Corporate Integrity Pledge, which was signed on 19 February 2014, demonstrating our commitment to upholding anti-corruption in the conduct of our business.