Vapor-product regulations sought in Malaysia

A petition urging the government of Malaysia to regulate vapor products in the country has attracted 50,000 signatures, according to a Bernama story citing the Malaysian Organisation of Vape Entities (MOVE).

MOVE’s president, Samsul Kamal Arriffin, said the group wanted the government to ensure that the manufacture, sale and distribution of the products were managed in a systematic, safe and structured manner because the group had received “a lot of feedback saying that vape is more detrimental to health compared to smoking”.

“Generally vape consumers want the use of vape and the vapor to be regulated like tobacco,” he said. “This is because vaping is gaining in popularity in Malaysia and some people are willing to change their lifestyle by choosing vape as an alternative to smoking.”

Umno (United Malays National Organisation – Malaysia’s largest political party) Youth vice-chief, Khairul Azman Harun, who was handed the petition, said Umno Youth was against a ban on vaping but wanted the government to regulate vape products because studies had shown that vaping could reduce nicotine addiction among heavy smokers by up to 80 percent.

He said that electronic cigarette entrepreneurs, who first introduced the products in Malaysia in 2011, should adopt good manufacturing practice so that the products currently used by 400,000 consumers, would not be a health hazard.