Similar efforts were recently made in the US, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcing in July that nicotine levels in cigarettes would be lowered to address the issue.
Speaking to FMT, Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control (MCTC) president Dr Molly Cheah said the idea sounded good but it might not be viable.
When asked if the government should implement similar regulations here, she said there are no safe levels of nicotine.
“So there is no use arguing that the chances of getting addicted are smaller if your nicotine levels are lower,” she said.
According to her, once a person is addicted to nicotine, the amount in cigarettes makes no difference as they will only smoke more to satisfy their cravings.
“To tell you the truth, it will just be giving them false hope. The consumption by those addicted will still be there.”
She said the move could also send the wrong message to youths that it is acceptable to continue smoking due to lower nicotine levels.
“You don’t want to send the wrong message to young people, telling them that it is okay to smoke since the cigarettes have less nicotine in them,” she said.
Even with lower nicotine levels, smoking could still affect individuals’ health as other dangerous chemicals would remain in the cigarettes, she said.
Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman, who is president of the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia at the College of Public Health Medicine, said the best move would be to eliminate smoking altogether.
“The best is still no cigarettes in whatever form, including e-cigarettes.
“Vape, even without nicotine, is still harmful. The principle is simple: anything foreign that is not meant for the body tissues is harmful.
“The least we can say about non-nicotine devices is that scientists actually know very little about the health risks of vaping,” he said to FMT.
The issue of smoking has been in the news lately following rumours that smaller, 10-stick packets of cigarettes will soon be sold.
However, Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam dismissed such talk, saying the ministry would not give approval for the sale of such “kiddie packs” as the law prohibits the sale of cigarettes in packs of fewer than 20 sticks.
He said this is also consistent with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which Malaysia has been part of since 2003.