WHILE various quarters have lauded the Government’s proposed law to prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes and vaporisers to Malaysians born after 2005, some have objected the ban and called for the Government to reconsider.
The ban will devastate an industry that is worth RM2.27 bil, they fretted. But RM2.27 bil industry aside, a more pressing concern is that such a move to ban less harmful alternatives to tobacco will send a wrong message to current smokers.
Specifically, such a ban gives the impression that vape is as harmful as traditional cigarettes without any differentiation, said the Advanced Centre for Addiction Treatment Advocacy (ACATA).
A sweeping catch-all ban that includes harm-reduced products such as vape is not the answer, the group insisted. Rather, the move is counter-productive.
“Stagnating Malaysian prevalence of smoking warrants a more realistic solution in tackling the country’s smoking problem. Misinformation and inaccurate theories will certainly not improve – let alone solve – the problem,” its president Dr Arifin Fii pointed out.
“There is substantial and credible evidence to support that vape products are much less harmful than smoking.”
Dr Arifin said this in in response to Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s recent announcement that the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill was approved by the Cabinet on July 13.
Khairy reportedly said that the Bill would be tabled in the current parliamentary meeting.
The proposed Bill essentially prevents those born on January 1, 2005 and onwards from ever purchasing tobacco and tobacco-related products, even when they become 18 years’ old or the current legal age for consumption
Vaping helps smokers quit tobacco
According to Dr Arifin, evidence also indicated that vaping efficiently helps smokers to quit. Further, studies have shown that the percentage of never smokers who take up vape is significantly small.
“This is especially true in Malaysia. A local study in 2020 found that only 0.6% of non-smokers use vape, thus debunking the myth that vape appeals to new users,” he commented.
To put things into perspective, the tobacco epidemic remains one of the biggest public health threats to the world, killing more than eight million people a year, including around 1.2 million deaths from exposure to second-hand smoke.
According to statistics, it also kills 27,200 Malaysians annually.
“ACATA disagrees with the Government’s move to ban less harmful alternatives including vape. There is substantial and credible evidence to support that vape products are much less harmful than smoking,” Dr Arifin said.
“Evidence also show that vaping efficiently helps smokers to quit. Further, studies have shown that the percentage of never smokers who take up vape is significantly small.”
“Therefore, it is very inapprehensible for the Government to take such a counter-productive measure which will deny current smokers’ access to vape, a less harmful alternative to tobacco smoking, which causes overwhelming number of deaths,” he opined.
“This move sends a wrong message to current smokers as the Government portrays vape to be as harmful as traditional cigarettes without any differentiation.”
Dr Arifin warned that the ban on less harmful alternatives including vape will make it inaccessible and thus make quitting smoking harder for current smokers.
As a result, Malaysia’s smoking prevalence will continue to stagnate – if not grow – over the next decade.
“Therefore, ACATA believes that it is important for all stakeholders to work together to develop an appropriate regulatory approach which provides consumers who might otherwise continue to smoke, the accessibility and the confidence to use the less harmful products,” he said. – July 25, 2022
