Youth and Sports Minister, Hannah Yeoh has called for an immediate regulation of the vape and e-cigarettes industry through future laws.
She said that the regulation is not only important for athletes, but also for the larger community of Malaysians.
Yeoh said this as a response to a question from Machang’s Member of Parliament, Wan Ahmad Fahysal in the parliamentary session on the 21st of November 2023.
“Through a post-cabinet meeting on the 3rd of November, the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) has decided that all premises under KBS purview will be gazetted as a smoke free zone,” Yeoh said.
Yeoh also confirmed that next year’s Rakan Muda programme will also include more awareness campaigns on the dangers of nicotine, particularly from vapes, e-cigarettes and cigarettes.
Machang’s MP, Wan Ahmad Fahysal raised the question in parliament on whether the Rakan Muda outfit can be leveraged to educate Malaysian youths on the dangers of vapes, e-cigarettes and cigarettes.
The issue of vapes and e-cigarettes and the grey area of the law that they operate in has always been an issue, hence why more leaders are pushing for more regulations to keep this industry under control.
According to Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, statistics from the Ministry of Health has shown that 15% of youth in the 15-19 age range are regular smokers of cigarettes and vapes.
As of now, vape products and liquids are already taxed under Malaysian law, starting from the 1st of April 2023. However, some critics have called the move to tax vape products as indirectly legalising them, and might exacerbate the nicotine problem Malaysia is already facing.
