Banning vape consumption by minors is a “core tenet” of the GEG policy, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy said.
Its CEO, Azrul Khalib, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had, however, implied that banning vape and e-cigarettes containing nicotine would be a drastic move.
“Since the cornerstone of the GEG policy is to ban the use of cigarettes, vape and e-cigarettes for generations born from 2007 onwards, does that mean the GEG component has been removed from the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill?” he asked.
Azrul was commenting on Anwar’s statement in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday that Putrajaya wanted to adopt a moderate approach by taxing vape products. Anwar said banning these products “would be too drastic a measure”.
Azrul, who had in January proposed that provisions relating to the GEG in the current version of the bill be dropped to ensure its passage, said he was encouraged that Anwar had given his guarantee the bill would be tabled in May.
He was earlier sceptical about the prospect of a bill being tabled and passed by the Dewan Rakyat in May as there was no strong support from MPs last year when it was tabled by then health minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said there was greater urgency to table the bill now following the government’s decision to exempt liquid and gel nicotine from the Poisons Act, as there was no regulation in place on the manufacturing, distribution, promotion and sales of these items.
“We need regulatory frameworks to ensure that these products are not only taxable but restricted from being sold to minors and do not cause nicotine poisoning.”
Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye welcomed Anwar’s assurance, saying the legalisation of vape products should be packaged together with the tobacco bill, and that the GEG policy should be regularly reviewed should it come into law.
“New Zealand and the UK have legalised e-cigarettes and vape devices, which have become a sort of replacement for cigarettes for a long time,” Lee told FMT. “Therefore, we should wait for more data on the safety of e-cigarettes from the UK.”
The former Gopeng MP also backed the “moderate approach” taken by Putrajaya in taxing vape products instead of banning them, explaining that an outright ban had never succeeded in any country.
He said the lack of regulation had led to e-cigarette and vape products flourishing over the years and had since become a multi-billion ringgit industry.
“If you want to take drastic measures at the moment (by banning these substances), it will severely affect the livelihood of vape sellers. Therefore, I think it is fair (to tax these substances),” he said.