KUCHING: The Centre for Market Education (CME) has released a study showing potential savings of over RM1.1 billion annually if Malaysia adopts harm reduction strategies in public health and transportation.
CME researcher Imran Shamsunahar said the data indicated an anticipated RM305 billion in investment within the semiconductor industry over the next decade, potentially creating up to 300,000 jobs as a result of the savings.
Semiconductors are vital components for both electric vehicles (EVs) and electronic devices such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Considering Malaysia’s prominent role in this industry, the potential for growth is evident.
Deaths due to tobacco smoking and annual healthcare costs. Source: WHO (2020) and Khazanah Research Institute (2018)
Estimation of healthcare costs from smoking in Malaysia, 2020.
Healthcare savings, thanks to harm reduction (direct costs). *This is not equal to ten times the first-year savings because the calculation base is progressively declining over time precisely because of the savings from the previous year.
On public health, he pointed out the potential savings with a shift towards alternative nicotine products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco devices.
“It’s not the nicotine that’s the real enemy but how it’s consumed.
“Switching to these alternatives could translate to healthcare savings of RM787 million over a decade,” he told New Sarawak Tribune recently.
He further detailed, “Even if just 1 per cent of smokers make the switch, we’re looking at a productivity boost of RM2.61 billion yearly. That’s akin to adding 0.16 per cent to Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”
Achieving this through harm reduction policies, he said, would catapult the vaping industry’s value from RM2.5 billion to RM8.7 billion and could see the Heat-no-Burn (HNB) market value rise to RM528 million.
On the staggering RM1.9 billion smoking-related healthcare costs in 2020, Imran said, “With the right harm reduction approach, we could be pocketing an annual saving of RM97.83 million. That’s RM19.88 million saved for each percentage of smokers who decide to quit.”
Discussing the impact of a surge in EVs adoption, he added, “If Malaysia aligns with World Health Organisation (WHO’s) 2025 clean air targets, we could see a dip of 70 per cent in healthcare costs from air pollution, which is a monumental RM103 billion.
“Our projections also show healthcare savings between RM3.6 billion and RM5.4 billion by 2030 and even reaching RM13 billion by 2040 with our government’s EV goals.”
Shedding light on the diabetes crisis costing Malaysians nearly RM15 billion annually, he suggested a remedy.
“Promoting alternatives like chromium picolinate, a dietary supplement often used to improve blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes, might result in an annual net savings of RM248 million.
He continued, “Furthermore, just a 10 per cent drop in sugary drink consumption can carve out an additional RM105 million yearly from diabetes-related healthcare bills.”
