A VAPE device tucked inside a school bag may look harmless. It may be brightly coloured, fruit-flavoured and shaped like a pen, toy or USB drive.
Yet behind that appearance can lie nicotine addiction, toxic chemicals and, increasingly, substances never intended to be inhaled through a consumer vaping device.
Malaysia is no longer confronting only a smoking problem. We are facing a fast-moving youth addiction and public-health challenge.
The National Health and Morbidity Survey 2022 showed that current e-cigarette and vape use among Malaysian adolescents aged 13 to 17 rose from 9.8% in 2017 to 14.9% in 2022.
Among boys, prevalence reached 23.3%, or almost one in four, while 6.2% of girls reported current use.
Vaping has moved from the margins into the lives of young people.
The World Health Organisation estimates that at least 15 million adolescents aged 13 to 15 worldwide use e-cigarettes. In countries with available data, adolescents are, on average, nine times more likely than adults to vape.
Sweet flavours, colourful packaging, discreet devices and social-media promotion can make nicotine appear fashionable, modern and harmless. It is neither. Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm the developing adolescent brain.
Exposure during adolescence can affect attention and learning and increase the risk of long-term dependence. What begins as curiosity during a school break can become a daily compulsion before parents or teachers notice.
When a vape is no longer just a vape
The concern is no longer limited to nicotine. Vaping products are increasingly being used to deliver illicit drugs and other psychoactive substances.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has documented vaping products containing synthetic cannabinoids, ketamine, methamphetamine, etomidate and other substances.
It has also warned that such products may be mis-sold or mislabelled, contain unpredictable concentrations and, in some cases, contain multiple substances.
This creates a particularly dangerous situation for users who may not know what they are inhaling.
In Malaysia, viral “zombie vape” videos circulating in 2026 showed young people appearing dazed, disoriented or behaving erratically after allegedly using drug-containing vape liquids.
In one widely reported case, police arrested three people and seized a bottle of vape liquid believed to contain ketamine after a video showing two men in an intoxicated state circulated online.
Such incidents should not be treated as comedy or online entertainment. Behind every viral video may be a frightened family, a young person developing a substance-use problem or a medical emergency waiting to happen.
The scale of recent enforcement suggests that authorities are taking the issue seriously.
Between 2023 and June 2026, authorities seized 718.43kg of vape and e-cigarette products suspected of containing prohibited substances, involving 400 cases and 585 arrests. In the first five months of 2026 alone, 267 arrests were recorded across 168 cases.
Authorities have also warned that such products are being targeted at young people and students through social media, online platforms and courier services.
The Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852) provides important controls, including restrictions on sales to minors, online sales, advertising and promotion. These measures are essential.
However, legislation cannot stand alone.
A law cannot automatically give a teenager the confidence to resist peer pressure, question an influencer’s claims or recognise the early signs of addiction in a friend.
Whatever the debate over vaping as a harm-reduction tool for adult smokers, there should be no debate about protecting children, non-smokers and young people from nicotine addiction and exposure to illicit substances.
Education must keep pace
This is why community education and youth advocacy matter.
One example is the HEBAT — Henti, Elak, Basmi Asap Tembakau — Training of Trainers programme, which brings healthcare professionals, educators and students together to strengthen tobacco- and vape-prevention advocacy.
The programme goes beyond conventional lectures. Participants explore tobacco-control history and policy, the health, environmental and economic harms of tobacco and vape products, smoking-cessation support, media ethics and persuasive communication.
They also examine misleading media messages and develop social-media advocacy materials capable of competing in the same digital spaces where vaping products and harmful behaviours are promoted.
Most importantly, the Training of Trainers model transforms participants from passive listeners into multipliers of change.
Each trained advocate can reach classmates, colleagues, families and communities. The programme does not end when the workshop closes. That is where its real work begins.
The collaboration between Universiti Malaya, the Muallim District Health Office and Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah demonstrates what meaningful public-health action can look like: academic expertise connected with frontline healthcare experience and the energy of educational institutions.
The initiative is also expected to expand through another HEBAT Training of Trainers programme at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, extending the network of advocates committed to protecting Malaysia’s younger generation.
We must stop describing youth vaping as merely a lifestyle choice. For many young people, it can become a pathway to nicotine dependence and, increasingly, exposure to dangerous illicit substances.
A tobacco- and vape-free generation will not be created by fear alone. It will be built through truthful education, trusted relationships, responsible media, consistent enforcement and young advocates prepared to protect one another.
Every advocate trained today may prevent an addiction tomorrow.
In a crisis that can hide inside pockets, school bags and social-media feeds, empowering young people may be one of the most important investments Malaysia can make. ‒ Aug 12, 2026
The authors are medical lecturers at Universiti Malaya and fellows of the Nicotine Addiction Research and Collaborating Centre (NARCC).
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image: 2Firsts
