MPs Want Liquid Nicotine on Poisons List

Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) in Malaysia are amplifying calls for the reintroduction of liquid nicotine into the Poisons Act 1952.

Kuala Langat MP Ahmad Yunus Hairi, who heads Perikatan Nasional’s health portfolio, said the absence of regulations on vape has led to a proliferation in the number of teens using e-cigarettes or vaping products.

“By excluding liquid nicotine from the Poisons Act, we have inadvertently created loopholes that undermine our efforts to combat the use of vaping among our youth.

“I hope liquid nicotine can be reinstated into the Poisons Act, given the Health Minister’s authority over the matter, so that, at the very least, before we proceed with the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023, we can have some control over these e-cigarette devices,” Ahmad Yunus said in his debate on the Health White Paper tabled in Parliament, reports CodeBlue.

Both the Malaysian Medical Association and the Malaysian Pharmacists Society have previously urged the government to bring liquid nicotine back under the control of the Poisons Act 1952, particularly in light of the uncertain status of the tobacco bill.

The Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill, which regulates tobacco and vape products, remains in limbo after it was referred to the Health parliamentary special select committee—chaired by former Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad—immediately after first reading in Malaysia’s lower house of Parliament.

This means that vapes and e-cigarettes will remain legally available for sale to minors aged under 18 for at least another four months until the lower house meets in October.