KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — The plan to confiscate the nicotine-laced fluids used in e-cigarettes from traders nationwide will backfire as vape businesses will likely go underground to sell their products, a vaping advocate group has warned the Health Ministry.

The Malaysian E-Vaporisers and Tobacco Alternative Association (Mevta) believes the ministry’s crackdown will also dampen efforts by some vaping lobbyists who want the billion-ringgit industry to be regulated as using nicotine is essential for nearly all vape brands and products, and is what drives cigarette smokers to quit smoking and switch to e-cigarettes.

“Only thing that I can foresee in the event of a crackdown like this is that the vaping industry will go underground, and we (Mevta) want to avoid that from happening as that is not a solution for anyone, we want proper regulation,” Mevta president Allan Foo told Malay Mail Online when contacted.

He said the government should help legalise the vaping industry by allowing traders and businesses to apply for a licence to sell e-cigarettes laced with nicotine, claiming that it is a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes.

“Vapes are not the problem, we want to be part of the solution, why is Subra so gung-ho in wanting to kill the vape industry?” Foo asked, referring to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam.

“Help provide a solution, perhaps let us work with pharmacies, work with the ministry, do not take away this alternative, there will still be a demand for vaping,” Foo added.

Mevta is a year-old advocacy group comprising e-vaporiser users, distributors and vendors, that claims to have over 100 full-fledged members and over 6,000 associate members.

The group said that Malaysia is the world’s second largest market for vaping after the United States, with sales estimated at RM2.84 billion last year.

Mevta’s latest remarks was in response to the Health Ministry’s decision to confiscate the nicotine products used in e-cigarettes from all traders nationwide, in a move to discourage Malaysians from vaping.

Its minister Dr Subramaniam said that his ministry is empowered to do so under the 1952 Poisons Act and 1983 Food Act, pointing out that vape shops are currently not licensed to sell any products which contain nicotine.

Dr Subramaniam was reported by a local daily as saying last weekend that the sale and promotion of e-cigarettes could very well be restricted if the government decides to apply the same set of rules regulating the use of tobacco products to “vaping”.

The New Straits Times quoted Subramaniam as saying that such a move would ensure that the use and sales of vaping devices would be off limits to those under the age of 18.

He said the Health Ministry is in the process of seeing how the rules governing the sale of tobacco products could be applied to vaping, adding that measures were needed to prevent hazardous contents from being used in vaping liquids.

The Health Ministry’s concerns on the rise of vaping among Malaysians include the long-term effects of inhaling vapors containing nicotine, formaldehyde and propylene glycol.

Dr Subramaniam said last Friday that the Cabinet has decided that electronic cigarettes or “vaping” will be regulated due to health concerns over their usage.

Concerns over vaping exist largely due to their initial positioning as electronic replacements for cigarettes, prompting fears that the former may be as harmful as conventional tobacco use.

While the health risks of smoking are well established, the dangers involved in using e-cigarettes have not been conclusively determined.

The more apparent risk comes from users jury-rigging their own vaporisers using diverse components and without proper research, as seen from incidents involving exploding e-cigarettes.