KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 — The National Cancer Council (Makna) has denied supporting the sale of e-cigarettes after its logo was featured in promotional material for a “Red Edition” charity product.
The council also reiterated that it does not support, endorse or encourage the public to vape or consume nicotine in any form.
“Our fight against cancer is integral and we do not support smoking or alcohol intake in any source or form,” it said in a statement to Malay Mail.
In the promotional material spotted, a company called NCIG Malaysia had announced the pre-order for a special of edition of its e-cigarette — of which RM5 from each sale will be donated to Makna.
The starter pack for its e-cigarette sells for RM150, while its nicotine pods are priced at RM40 for a pack of three.
Despite respecting the brand’s apparent good intentions, Makna said it has advised the brand to remove its marketing materials from social media to avoid further misunderstanding.
“Hopefully, people will not get the wrong message from this impasse,” it said.
NCIG’s promotional materials now only say “For every purchase, RM5 will be donated to charity association.”
Meanwhile, a public relations spokesman from NCIG Malaysia explained that the company had only wanted to donate to Makna because the group is at the forefront in the fight against cancer, and was not meant to encourage people to take up smoking.
“We know that smoking is bad for one’s health and it causes cancer which is where NCIG comes in by marketing ourselves as an alternative to smoking.
“We intend to make traditional smokers switch to NCIG for the betterment of their lives and what more to donate our proceeds to an NGO that spearheads the fight against cancer,” said the spokesman who only wished to be known as Amy Noor.
Amy said he could not understand the backlash against the promotional material, saying it never stated that Makna endorses its product or the company.
“We have no ill-intention whatsoever to encourage people to smoke or link Makna to any form of smoking activities.
“All we wanted to do out of goodwill was donate RM5 from each purchase to an NGO that shares a common ground with us in the fight against smoking and cancer,” he said.
