KUALA LUMPUR: The Finance Ministry and Health Ministry are at odds over the proposal to remove liquid nicotine from the Poisons List.
The Finance Ministry is pushing for this to expedite the legalisation of nicotine-laced vape products, which would allow the government to tax such products and boost income amid flagging government revenue.
On the other hand, the Health Ministry is firmly behind its stand that the Control of Tobacco Products and Smoking Bill 2022, also known as the Generational End-game (GEG) Bill, should be passed first before the vape industry is legalised to safeguard the young from nicotine addiction.
During the tabling of the 2023 Budget in February, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had voiced the government's support for the GEG Bill.
But Anwar, who is also finance minister, had noted that some RM2 billion in vape products had been sold despite being illegal.
He said the government would impose an excise duty on liquid or gel products containing nicotine, with half the proceeds going to the Health Ministry to improve the quality of health services.
The New Straits Times learnt that a move to expedite the taxation of these items was in the works, with the Customs Act amended to allow the entry of nicotine-laced vape products into the country.
However, it is understood that for the product to be sold openly, the government must first remove liquid nicotine from the Poisons Act 1952.
Speculation is mounting among industry insiders that this might come sooner than expected.
On March 21, the Finance Ministry published a list of taxes announced in the 2023 Budget that would be delayed.
Taxes on liquid or gel products containing nicotine, such as vape liquids, were not on the list, giving industry observers the impression that the government would proceed with its implementation on Saturday.
It is understood that the Health Ministry's Poisons Board must approve the removal of nicotine from the Poisons Act.
A source familiar with the issue told the NST that the board, which met on Wednesday, had shot down the finance minister's proposal to remove the item from the act.
It is understood the meeting was chaired by the Health Ministry's Pharmaceutical Services senior director, Norhaliza A. Halim, who is Poisons Board co-chairman.
"As a result of the rejection, the minister will now have to present the findings to the cabinet," the source said.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah did not respond to queries on the subject.
The NST learnt that the Finance Ministry had sent at least two letters to push for the Health Ministry's support to legalise the nicotine vape industry.
The NST also sighted a letter dated Feb 22 sent by an industry player to Deputy Finance Minister Steven Sim requesting the government to immediately regulate the industry without waiting for the GEG Bill to be passed.
The industry player suggested that the government consider regulating the industry through the Food Act 1983.
The letter also contained a revised draft of the Food Act and the Poisons Act.
The source described the draft as "one-sided" and that it only looked at the industry's needs and neglected public health.
The source said the placement of tobacco under the Food Act was meant to be temporary and a new act was needed to regulate cigarettes and vapes.
"How can we consider tobacco or nicotine foodstuff? We need to understand that the placement of tobacco under the Food Act then was meant to be temporary.
"Since then, the Health Ministry has been trying hard to enact a new law that regulates them. The GEG was supposed to be it.
"But it has yet to be approved until now," the source said.
Recently, the Malaysian Medical Association and Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) voiced their opposition to the removal of nicotine from the controlled substances list under the law ahead of the implementation of a new tax for vape products.
MPS president Amrahi Buang had called on the government to reject the proposal to protect public health and safety.
On Wednesday, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the ministry was committed to speeding up the tabling of the GEG Bill.
She said the bill could not make it to the current Dewan Rakyat sitting, so she would try to table it in the next session in May.
"(We are aware) the government is working on a vape tax, but we are working to speed up the tabling of the Tobacco Control Bill," she said. Additional reporting by Nur Zarina Othman