KUALA LUMPUR: Manufacturers and importers should be required to display all chemical contents in vape liquids, enabling users to understand the health risks associated with vaping, say health experts.
This is because the new Control of Smoking Products for Public Health (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations 2024, which came into effect yesterday, does not make it mandatory for the chemical content to be listed.
The experts called for regular inspections and lab analyses of vape products on the market to ensure that all products meet the Health Ministry's requirements, including nicotine concentration limits.
Universiti Putra Malaysia's Dr Emilia Zainal Abidin, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Dr Aziemah Zulkifli and Management & Science University's Dr Najihah Zainol Abidin said labelling requirements were important in ensuring consumers know the potential risks of vaping and to prevent mislabelling.
They said a study they worked on found labelling inconsistencies in vape products in the market, including compounds contained in vape liquids.
Only two out of 17 "zero nicotine" vape liquids they analysed were accurately labelled.
"Our study found inconsistencies in the nicotine levels declared on the labels of e-liquid bottles and the actual concentrations measured.
"This highlights the discrepancies in labelling of locally manufactured vape liquids sold on e-commerce platforms," they told the New Straits Times
Universiti Malaya's Nicotine Addiction Research and Collaborating group deputy coordinator Associate Professor Dr Nur Amani@Natasha Ahmad Tajuddin, said vape users should be informed of the chemical substances they were ingesting.
"Labelling all products (vape liquids) with the specific percentage of chemical content is necessary, as consumers must know what they are ingesting, she said, adding that product labelling must be accompanied by enforcement measures to ensure effectiveness.
Nur Amani suggested that vape liquids or their contents be regularly sent to laboratories for content analysis.
Malaysia gazetted the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations 2024 yesterday, bringing manufacturers and importers of smoking products under these regulations.
The regulations states that smoking products must be labelled with health warnings, health information, sales restrictions, brand name, address of the manufacturer or importer, details of nicotine concentration and the volume of the smoking substance.
There is no requirement to label vapes with all of their chemical content.
Under the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health (Registration of Tobacco Products, Smoking Substances, and Substitute Tobacco Products) Regulations 2024, manufacturers and importers must submit a laboratory analysis report conducted by an approved laboratory on smoking products intended for sale to the director-general of Health.