E-CIGARETTES should be strictly regulated as
a pharmaceutical product in Malaysia.
That’s the recommendation of the Health
Ministry’s technical committee tasked with studying the health effects of
e-cigs and shisha smoking, reveals its chairman, senior consultant chest
physician Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Razak Muttalif, a former director of the Kuala
Lumpur Hospital Institute of Respiratory Medicine.
The initial recommendation was to ban e-cigs
all together, he shares in a recent interview in Kuala Lumpur. But because
there were “a lot of issues”, which he declines to elaborate on, the committee
decided on the next best thing: strict regulation.
Last year, Rural and Regional Development
Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Health Ministry’s ban on sales
of vapes containing nicotine would kill the Malay-dominated industry. The minister
made the comment after several bumiputra groups lodged a police report over the
issue.
Dismissing the concerns of pro-vaping groups
that legislating e-cigs as a pharmaceutical product will push up costs and make
them inaccessible to smokers who want to quit, Dr Abdul Razak says that it’s
the same as buying medicine.
“Is it difficult to buy medicine in Malaysia?
There are many pharmacies nationwide,” he says.
“We recommended regulating it as a
pharmaceutical product rather than a consumer product because we cannot have
people selling e-cigs over the counter like cosmetics.
“Once you categorise them as consumer
products, you lose control of them,” he says, adding that the Malaysian model
will be similar to the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive but will also take into
consideration what is happening globally.
The minimum age restriction for the sale of
e-cigs, however, is still being debated. While he thinks having a global
regulatory standard is ideal, it is not realistic as different countries have
different local issues to contend with: “I’ll be very happy if it’s 21 but we
are also looking at 18.”
He questions the reliability of Greek
cardiologist Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos’ claim that a large number of
Malaysians have quit smoking because of vaping. The researcher, who will
release his findings on the country’s vapers later this week, told Sunday Star
last month that the new survey shows a high cessation rate of smoking regular
cigarettes among vapers here.
“Was the study done in a proper, ethical manner?
Let me see it first. We know that e-cigs will lead to nicotine addiction.
“We don’t want e-cigs to be a gateway to
something bad. The aim is to ‘de-normalise’ smoking by 2045. Asking someone to
go for e-cigs is to normalise the whole thing again. To me, zero vaping is as
much a goal as zero smoking.”
The Health Ministry will regulate vaping
liquids containing nicotine while the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and
Consumerism Ministry will be responsible for liquids without nicotine, says Dr
Abdul Razak.
The e-cig devices, he says, must comply with
Malaysian Standard, a technical document that specifies the minimum
requirements of quality and safety for voluntary use by the public. The
committee is also seeking to review the Poisons Act 1952 to include e-cigs.
“We gave our recommendations to the relevant
authorities involved in the regulatory framework two months ago. Now it’s for
them to draft the law.”
Denying that the committee, which was set up
in 2013, took too long in coming up with its report, Dr Abdul Razak explains
that vaping and e-cigs are new and there aren’t many facts about the practice.
“We didn’t want any unnecessary lawsuits.
It’s not easy coming up with a law. Many parties are involved. Cabinet must
approve it. It’s a very long process.”
In May, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S.
Subramaniam announced that laws to regulate the vaping industry will be ready
before the end of the year. The laws will involve all aspects of vaping and its
products and accessories as well as distribution.
Universiti Malaya associate professor,
consultant psychiatrist, and nicotine addiction specialist Dr Amer Siddiq Amer
Nordin is hopeful that whatever the Government decides will be in the best
interest of Malaysians from a health perspective.
Our policies, he says, must protect all
Malaysians from harm and should be in congruence with the National Strategic
Plan 2015-2020. The Plan, he explains, aspires for a smoke-free nation by 2045.
Our tobacco control policies, he insists, should be to reach that target – the
sooner the better.
“We need legislation to tackle new nicotine
products – like e-cigs – that will eventually make their way to Malaysia,”
insists Dr Amer Siddiq, who is also the chief coordinator at the university’s
Centre of Addiction Sciences.
The United States and the European Union seem
to have taken a harder stand in regulating these products for their markets, he
notes. Both, he feels, adopted a similar approach that they believe is in the
best interest of their citizens.
“Although we’re aware of the decisions made
by other countries globally, we must take their recommendations with a pinch of
salt. What may work in the US and EU may not work for us due to various factors
like the costs involved and their laws. So we take note of their regulations,
review our situation, and take what’s suitable for us.”
He expects the Health Ministry to take a hard
stand like the US and EU. All efforts, he feels, should be to reduce smoking
prevalence by reinforcing existing laws.
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