THE government must produce a cogent and clear articulation of its position with respect to vaping and e-cigarettes. There appears to be some confusion about which direction the sector should take. The Health Ministry seems to lean towards prohibition, deciding that only licensed pharmacists and registered medical practitioners were allowed to supply e-cigarette liquids containing nicotine. They must also keep a record of the sale of the item. The decision was the result of a discussion held by a special task force headed by the ministry to examine the issue of e-cigarettes. Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, however, was more concerned about Malay vape sellers incurring losses as a result of the Health Ministry’s pronouncement. “Vape sellers can no longer run their businesses because big companies own pharmacies,” he had pointed out.
The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry, on the other hand, wants to formulate guidelines and price adjustments for such products, while Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin suggested banning both conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Apparently, everyone has an opinion on e-cigarettes, said to be the new cool kid on the block “with candy flavours and the trendy nickname of vaping”. Vaping communities are concentrated in the Klang Valley and Johor, but Ipoh, Kedah and Penang are catching up fast, according to one report. At rough estimate, there are a million vapers nationwide — about 10 per cent of whom are under 18. Some 35,000 visitors attended Malaysia’s first vaporiser convention held in Kuala Lumpur in June. And, there are at least 1,000 vape shops across the country and more than 400 local mod (electronic vaporiser device) and juice (e-liquid) brands.
Science has not yet resolved whether vaping is less dangerous than cigarettes. But, deputy director-general of Health Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman says there are sufficient global studies showing that vaping is detrimental to health. It is useful to remind ourselves that World Health Organisation scientists only found out that smoking traditional cigarettes caused cancer in the 1960s. But people had picked up the smoking habit long before the release of a definitive report on the dreadful harm of cigarettes. It is possible that vaping will be a “gateway” to smoking conventional cigarettes, especially among the younger generation, say doctors. The nicotine in the solution is likely to be addictive which could influence teenagers to smoke cigarettes in the future. Nobody is questioning the people’s right to vape or smoke. At the same time, until more information is available, it is better to err on the side of caution when it comes to the damaging effects of vaping. The Los Angeles Times, in calling for a tightening of the rules on e-cigarettes, says new information suggests that they “are looking less and less like benign alternatives to traditional smoking”. “Teenagers are apparently taking up the so-called vaping habit in droves and now, we’re also learning that the exhaled vapour contains multiple harmful chemicals.” Public policy on vaping must factor in the following — protection for minors and caution about allowing vaping in indoor settings, given that the health effects of second-hand vapour are not known.
Resource: http://www.nst.com.my
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