FOLLOWING a roundtable discussion on the NST Insight Forum, the idea of using vape as a tobacco harm reduction method may be a viable option to decrease smoking rates in Malaysia.
With local smoking rates on a plateau for over a decade, according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019, implementing tobacco harm reduction programmes in the form of encouraging smokers to switch to vaping may be a prudent thing to do.
Seeing as how vaping has a lower toxic burden, it may have lesser health effects as well.
However, it is difficult for vaping to be considered a less harmful alternative to cigarettes, as long as there is misinformation that vaping is deemed as harmful as cigarettes.
A survey conducted among various Malaysian individuals found different views on the proposal to implement vape regulations.
LESSER RISK
The consensus among participants was that vape products were seen as a smoking cessation tool.
Creative consultant Reynard Lee, 27, pointed out that he made the switch from cigarettes to vape with his health in mind.
"I stopped smoking and picked up vaping because of the realisation that too many cigarettes might take a toll on my health," said Lee.
Dr Arifin bin Fii, a general practitioner who has been in the medical practice for 30 years, said that while vaping is less harmful than cigarettes, they are still risky.
"As we know, neither smoking nor vaping is good or safe. We are trying to minimise the risk of smoking cigarettes because they do a lot of harm to the human body. Vaping is also not risk-free, but luckily, studies show that vaping poses lesser risks than smoking."
Citing a study by Public Health England, Dr Arifin said that vaping was found to be 95 per cent less harmful than smoking, which is why the United Kingdom adopted tobacco harm reduction policies to aid smoking cessation.
Besides that, some hospitals in the UK also have "vape kiosks" in a bid to get the public to quit smoking by promoting it as a less harmful alternative to smokers.
Haikal Ismail, 36, who works in the Esports activation and development field, echoed Dr Arifin's sentiments. He said that since vaping results in less tar and carbon monoxide content than cigarettes, it is a better option in the long run.
ECONOMICALLY VIABLE
When asked if taxes should be imposed on vape products, Dr Arifin agreed that it would be a good move on the Malaysian government's part because it could benefit the local economy.
Adding on to that, he continued, "The end goal of tobacco harm reduction is to facilitate the cessation of smoking. The taxes have to be risk proportionate to avoid disincentivising smokers from switching to less harmful products."
"Imposing taxes may also deter non-smokers and youth from picking up the vaping habit."
On the other hand, survey respondents say that taxation may have an adverse effect.
Lee added, "This would depend on the affordability of the end product to the consumers. If people can't afford vape products, they would succumb to cigarettes instead as there is no incentive to switch to less harmful products."
REGULATION OF VAPE INDUSTRY
Nonetheless, the majority of respondents agreed on one thing – the need to regulate the vape industry.
28-year old estate planner Hilman Shukor stated, "It can ensure a higher quality of the production and manufacturing of vape products and devices. With sufficient research and development put into products, companies will be held accountable to a higher standard."
Ex-smoker turned vaper Allison Xavier, 38, who works as a senior manager, agrees that the vape industry should be governed.
Along with the other participants, Calvin Chew, a 28-year old wealth strategist, highlighted the need for regulation because the long-term effects of vaping are still unknown.
"Vape products were rolled out too quickly, in my opinion, before more credible research could take place," Chew said.
Additionally, Dr Arifin said that regulations are in need because there is a risk of abuse and misuse of products that could lead to negative consequences, and cited the EVALI (E-cigarette, or Vaping, product use-Associated Lung Injury) issue in the US as an example.
"It's essential to protect the consumer in this case. For example, the EVALI cases in the US back in 2019 were caused by misuse and abuse of products with mixture of prohibited ingredients in vape e-liquids.
"So, I think the government should take a proactive stand in regulating the vape industry so that we can ensure that the products are compliant to safety and quality standards. This can also help with the efficacy of delivering safer nicotine products so that people will get the benefit of switching from traditional cigarettes to vaping," he said.