KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Society for Harm Reduction (MSHR) has called on the government to amend existing laws to introduce regulations for vape products following the Ministry of Health's (MoH) decision to exempt nicotine from the Poisons Act last Friday.
Following prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's earlier announcement in the Parliament, MSHR also understands the government will look to table a new bill at the next Parliament session to regulate all smoking products, including vape products.
However, MSHR believes the new law will only be ready in the fourth quarter (Q4) of this year after considering the wait for Dewan Rakyat in May 2023 and the bill going through Dewan Negara, slated to take place in July 2023.
MSHR chairman Professor Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh said that since the legislative process takes time, the country could see the laws only to be introduced later this year.
"The wait is too long. Instead, the government should look into existing laws that can be amended or expanded to include vape products.
"For example, current laws regulating tobacco products are already strict and should be amended to enable vape products to be regulated immediately, given that the nicotine used in vape products is also derived from tobacco.
"This is to ensure safeguards are in place to protect consumers from prohibited ingredients and prevent products from falling into the hands of children," she said in a statement today.
Dr Sharifa said MSHR stands firm that vape is a less harmful alternative to tobacco and an effective harm reduction strategy.
"However, allowing easy access to vape products, especially amongst
non-smokers and the underage go against harm reduction principles," said Dr Sharifa, a public health physician, health economics specialist, and Tun Fatimah Women Leadership Fellow from the Faculty of Medicine Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
At the same time, MSHR also urges the government to develop regulations that will consider the harm reduction potential of vape products.
"Multiple independent data sources from local and international research show that vape has been proven to be less harmful than smoking and is effective in helping smokers quit.
"These independent researches have also been acknowledged by the United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand governments who are spearheading the tobacco harm reduction
agenda.
"Therefore, in developing the regulations for vape products, the MoH needs to consider the harm reduction potential of vape products so it can be used as an alternative to smoking, especially among people who do not respond to the traditional NRT," said Dr Sharifa.
Dr Sharifa also recommends that Malaysia take lessons from other developed countries that strictly regulate the e-liquid quality and content, such as the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which regulates nicotine-containing products and e-liquids in the UK.
The MHRA is responsible for enforcing the laws in the UK to regulate the products to ensure minimum standards for the safety and quality of all e-cigarettes and e-liquids.
The important part is that there are laws in place to spell out restrictions for specific products not exceeding specific nicotine strength, the maximum quantity of e-liquid in products, packaging to be child-resistant and tamper-evident, banning certain ingredients, including
colourings, caffeine, diacetyl and taurine, and labelling requirements and warnings on all vape products.
"All these need to be included in any regulations to regulate vape products to ensure smokers have access to safe and quality products to quit smoking completely," she said.