Consumer association calls for vape, e-cigarette ban

 

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) has urged the government to seriously consider banning vaping and e-cigarettes altogether.

“CAP found many school children admitting that they vaped and this brings us back to the question of how could they have access to vaping devices,” it said.

The association pointed out that it may be difficult to eliminate this phenomenon in the future if it is not banned now.

“While the illegal sale of vape products to minors is happening in Malaysia, reports revealed that it is also happening in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India, and the European Union.

“Vape traders are exploiting school children by selling vape products to them illegally,” said CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader in a statement today.

He cited the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2022, which indicated that Malaysian teens aged 13-17 using e-cigarettes and vapes rose from 9.8 percent in 2017 to 14.9 percent in 2022.

“Although there is a drop in cigarette smoking, the bad news is the statistics suggest a trend of teens switching to e-cigarettes and vaping. The Health Ministry aptly described the emergence of these products as a ‘public health threat’.

“The government needs to catch those who violated the law and impose the harshest punishment allowed,” Mohideen added.

He also said accidental nicotine poisoning among children is on the rise in Malaysia.

The National Poison Centre, based at Universiti Sains Malaysia, reported 66 calls of vaping-related poisoning between January 2015 and August 2022.

He said most of the cases involved children aged between one and four years old, the youngest being a four-month-old infant.

“Ingestion of e-liquids can kill and many thousands of flavours being sold are enticing to children.

Consumers’ Association of Penang president Mohideen Abdul Kader

“Such poisoning cases have taken a different turn in recent times because there is an increasing number of young vapers who suffer from nicotine poisoning through inhalation rather than from consuming.”

Substances contained in the e-cigarette or vape devices, when heated, will produce chemicals that can have an inflammatory effect on the lining of the lungs and cause e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (Evali).

Inaccurate nicotine content

With thousands of e-liquid variants flooding the market sold by 3,300 known retailers, it is impossible to monitor the nicotine concentration of each bottle or brand, added Mohideen.

CAP said according to the Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce, over 97 percent of e-liquids in the local market have nicotine.

“It is costly to determine the nicotine content because each sample must be tested with sophisticated laboratory machines. Studies have found that labelling is not always a reliable indicator of nicotine content and this appears to be a common issue.

“One study published in a professional journal showed that, of the 20 articles assessed, nine had more than half of their samples with nicotine content outside 10 percent of the labelled nicotine concentration,” said CAP.

Mohideen highlighted that a wide range of e-liquids, vapes, and shisha are readily available on online platforms and easily accessible to Malaysians and that there was very little age verification.

He said ruthless firms are targeting youngsters with cartoon characters and bubble-gum flavours and that the marketing strategy of targeting children, youths, and women with fruity flavours is widespread.

CAP highlighted that the Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill 2023 was scrutinised and approved by the Special Select Committee on Health of the previous Parliament but before it could be debated and approved, the Parliament was dissolved.

“The government has the duty to limit an individual’s liberty on the grounds of healthcare.

“Hence, we urge for a total ban on e-cigarettes and vapes because Parliament should not sacrifice the future of Malaysians to the industry.

“The current Parliament must pass the GEG (Generation End Game smoking ban) as soon as possible in view of the overwhelming scientific evidence that e-cigarettes and vapes have serious health consequences,” it said. - Mkini