Penang consumer group push for ban on vape, e-cigarettes

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 30 — The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) today urged the government to ban vape and e-cigarettes amid continued debate over a move that aims to end the habit among future generations of Malaysians.

CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader said there are now two million vape smokers in the country.

“According to the latest National Health and Morbidity Survey 2022, Malaysian teens aged 13 to 17 using e-cigarettes and vape rose from 9.8 per cent in 2017 to 14.9 per cent in 2022,” he said in a press conference at the CAP office here.

He said more school students, even those under 12 years old, are picking up the vape habit.

“Vape sellers are selling vape products to children illegally,” he said.

He said students are attracted to vaping due to the variety of cute shapes of the vape devices and it’s fruit flavours.

He warned that nicotine poisoning among children is on the rise in Malaysia.

“The National Poison Centre reported 66 calls of vaping-related poisoning between January 2015 and August 2022,” he said.

He said most of the cases involved children between one and four years old, the youngest being a four-month old infant.

He said substances in the vape devices produced chemicals that could cause damage to the lungs.

“The police have confirmed that some of these vape liquids contained ganja and other drugs and these are being sold to schoolchildren,” he said.

Subbarow showing a vape device in the form of a watch at the CAP office in George Town August 30, 2023. — Picture by Opalyn Mok

CAP senior education officer NV Subbarow said some of these vape devices were sold for only RM10 and school children as young as eight or nine years old have easy access to buy these devices.

He said many teachers have raised concerns about finding vape devices in the school bags of students.

“These devices are now smaller and they are even selling it in a watch form so teachers would not know that it’s a vape device,” he said.

CAP is also calling for the government to enact the Generational End Game (GEG) Act as soon as possible.

Mohideen said there is no need for the current government to further scrutinise the GEG Act before it’s debated and adopted in Parliament.

“This delaying tactic is unjustified and it is harmful to the health of the public,” he said.

He said it is a matter of public health and the government should not ignore the threats to health caused by smoking and vaping.