Now Malaysia Bans Vaping

Last week, we reported how Malaysia was adopting a progressive approach by regulating vaping for harm reduction but has since added a ban for people born after 2005

by Dave Cross
Feb 10, 2022

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Last week, Planet of the Vapes reported how Malaysia was adopting a progressive approach by regulating vaping for harm reduction. The move was welcomed by the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA). Last Friday, the Ministry of Health added a clarification that means access to harm reduction products will be banned to anyone born after 2005.

The announcement to regulate e-liquid and lift the sales ban was roundly greeted as meaning that Malaysia’s smoking rate would fall “considerably”.

The president of MOVE (Malaysian Organization of Vape Entities) said: “I am proud that the Malaysian Government has pushed back on the World Health Organisation’s anti-vaping agenda. As an ex-smoker, vaping has improved my health and arguably saved my life yet the WHO has pressured countries like mine to ban it. Thankfully our Government and Ministry of Health have instead listened to the many citizens like me who’ve had considerable success with vaping.”

CAPHRA’s Executive Coordinator added: “Despite its incredible effectiveness in reducing smoking rates and deaths, many countries in Asia-Pacific still insist on banning vaping. Malaysia’s pending legislation and regulation will send a big message to the world that vaping is the future not a foe.”

Some may wonder if pressure has been brought to bear as the Malaysian government has done a partial backtrack. On Friday, it explained that the smoking ban planned for anyone born after 2005 is not going to be restricted to tobacco products.

Electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products will now be roped into the new Tobacco and Smoking Control Act the government will be discussing in the upcoming parliamentary meeting.

The announcement was made by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin at an executive board meeting of the World Health Organisation in Geneva. Coincidentally, the billionaire Michael Bloomberg is the WHO’s Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries and has been pushing for harsh anti-vape/harm reduction policies.

Any Malaysian who is currently 17 years old and addicted to smoking despite not being able to legally buy tobacco products will now be banned from accessing legal vapes during the course of their life. Authorities hope that continuing to not being able to buy cigarettes legally is all that it will take to encourage them to quit.

Maybe Malaysian government officials ought to look at the comprehensive library of online panel discussions and presentations uploaded by sCOPe, a global collaboration of tobacco harm reduction consumer groups. That, and checking out www.righttovape.org to see the 14,000+ testimonials from people who’ve quit cigarettes by switching to safer smoke-free nicotine alternatives.

Dave Cross

Journalist at POTV

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Dave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous vape companies to develop content for their websites.

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