Selangor executive councillor Ng Suee Lim said he will discuss a deadline with health committee chairman Jamaliah Jamaluddin, and that enforcement action will be taken after that date.

“The matter will be referred to and discussed with the health executive councilor before any follow-up action is taken,” he told FMT.

With the decision on vape ads made by the state government last month, Ng said traders are being given sufficient time to take down their adverts, Harian Metro reported earlier.

“If after this period some are found not complying, the local councils will be ordered to carry out enforcement measures, including issuing summonses,” he was quoted as saying.

Ng maintained that the state government understood the economic situation and the difficulties these traders faced, which was why there was a grace period for the vape ads.

“However, when the time comes and they are still disobeying the law, action will be taken. Stubborn traders will be issued summonses and the cost (of taking down the ads) may be claimed from them,” he added.

In May, Jamaliah announced that all local councils in Selangor were ordered to immediately seize and remove vape ads as part of the state government’s efforts to curb the use of the product.

She cited “deeply alarming” data from the 2022 National Health and Morbidity Survey which found that nearly 14.9% of boys aged 13 to 17 in Malaysia were vape users.

However, the Selangor government has yet to decide to ban the sale of vapes as a whole, with a study of proposed guidelines ongoing.

Several state governments have moved towards completely banning the sale of vapes, including Perlis, Terengganu, Kedah and Pahang, while Johor and Kelantan have banned the sale of these products since 2016 and 2015, respectively.