KUALA LUMPUR: Vaping can reduce the smoking population in Malaysia to 4.0 million by 2025 through regulations and promoting smokers to switch to this less harmful alternative, according to a report by Datametrics Research & Information Centre (DARE).
Further, the report estimated that vaping will help the country reduce its healthcare spending on treating smoking-related diseases by RM1.3 billion in 2025 alone.
DARE managing director Pankaj Kumar said the agency derived this data using calculation models and studies by credible international agencies, such as Public Health England and Cochrane Review.
"Our findings clearly show that Malaysia will be able to reap tangible results from embracing tobacco harm reduction (THR), and developing sensible regulations for less harmful products is important to help the country achieve this agenda," he said in a statement today.
DARE, a Malaysian based think-tank agency, today launched a report entitled Clearing the Smoke: Tobacco Harm Reduction.
The report revealed that the adoption of THR strategies could be a game-changer in managing the smoking prevalence in Malaysia, which has remained largely stagnant for over a decade.
"As a start, DARE recommends that Malaysia differentiates tobacco products from less harmful products such as vape, which have proven scientifically as a less harmful alternative and effective to help smokers to quit by switching.
"Steps must also be taken to ensure that these less harmful products are regulated to ensure high standards of manufacturing, safety, product information, quality, and efficacy," Pankaj said.
He further said that DARE recommends a risk-proportionate approach in developing regulations, with regulators imposing restrictions in proportion to the risk to health posed by the product.
For example, traditional cigarettes would have warnings for smokers, but vaping products should have subtle messages about the value of switching.
To curate local data for the report, a perception survey was conducted in September 2021, which revealed that 80 per cent of Malaysians believe that the adoption of THR strategies in the country will help smokers quit traditional cigarettes as they will be able to switch to less harmful alternatives.
An overwhelming majority of 95 per cent said the government must be involved in implementing THR strategies in Malaysia.
The findings from this report are timely as Malaysia is at the cusp of introducing regulations for vape and vaping products in Malaysia.
This will follow the implementation of a taxation framework announced during the tabling of the 2022 Budget.
"By all means, Malaysia must continue existing programmes to reduce the smoking prevalence in Malaysia.
"However, leaders must also be open to exploring new science-based solutions that have proven to be effective in countries such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
"We must look at the trends in our country and determine the best strategies that can be developed into a framework that fits our reality," Pankaj said.
"With a concerted effort, we can reduce the demand for tobacco, minimise harm, reduce costs to health systems and ultimately, save lives," he said.