KL, July 18: Out of the blue, a local newspaper earlier this week called for a nationwide ban on vaping. It said it was worried that 14.9% of school students aged 13-17 were vape users (it cited a 2022 study). It was also alarmed that 65% of vape contents had meth and ecstasy, “two drugs favoured by teenagers”.
On top of that, vape-drug processing labs are being discovered around the country. “How many such drug labs there are in the country is an unknown but,” the editorial surmised, “if this isn’t a present danger to the country, what else is?”
Well, I can think of a few aside from corruption. Cigarette addition has been a “present danger” to this country for years and years. So has drug abuse (despite having sent scores of people to the gallows). Alcohol abuse, too, I’m sure.
And for many years, our roads have been turned into bloody and mangled death zones for young Malaysians, including teenagers. Between 2019 and 2021, half of the 14,308 deaths as a result of road crashes were youths, according to Paul Tan. This translatesd to an average of 7,077 young lives lost each year. In 2019 alone, 2,600 Malaysians aged 16-30 were killed in road accidents. The majority were motorcyclists, including your e-hailing riders.
Surprised that the same daily has not called for a ban on cigarettes, cocktails, and cup-cais (mopeds or small motorcycles).
To be fair, others have called for vaping to be banned. In fact, Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, Kedah and Pahang have already banned the sale of vapes. Selangor is considering it. But when a newspaper call for a ban on something — anything — I have questions to ask.
Will an outright ban solve the problem?
Like cigarettes and alcohol, when you push it underground, the black market will thrive — and that will be even harder to control.
Take a leaf from the Prohibition: America banned the consumption of alcohol a century ago (known as Prohibition) but half of the adult population wanted to continue drinking so they went underground, creating thousands of speakeasies and a corrupt bootleg industry. The trade of unregulated alcohol had serious public health consequences while the policing of the Prohibition was rife with biases, contradictions and corruption. America ended the “experiment” after 13 years, in 1933. Today some places have local restrictions but there is no nationwide alcohol consumption or sale in the US.
I spoke randomly to vapers and ex-vapers to gauge their views on whether a ban will work. One of them suspect that tobacco companies are behind the current campaign to ban vapes in Malaysia but that wasn’t what was asked.
Rather than denying adult smokers access to less harmful alternatives, people generally agree that we should be enforcing stricter age checks, limiting how vapes are displayed in shops, and controlling where they can be sold.
A practical way forward is to allow sales only at licensed convenience store chains or in properly regulated vape specialty stores.
We can also consider enforcing plain packaging or plain design for vape products (less neon or bright colours, for instance). This may help reduce the appeal to teenagers.
We can also consider enforcing plain packaging or plain design for vape products (less neon or bright colours, for instance). This may help reduce the appeal to teenagers.
At the end of the day, vapes should be treated under the same regulatory lens as cigarettes — with proper rules on flavours, marketing, and sales practices.
The issue of drugs being found in vapes is a serious one, of course. But then again, the issue of drugs NOT found in vapes has been a serious issue in Malaysia for decades.
The issue of drugs being found in vapes is a serious one, of course. But then again, the issue of drugs NOT found in vapes has been a serious issue in Malaysia for decades.
Enforcement is key. That’s why enforcement can’t just stop at the retail level — customs and immigration need to step up. Open tank vapes coming in from overseas should be randomly opened and tested.
Open tank vape systems are a key problem. These are refillable devices that allow users to manually fill the vape liquid, which makes it very easy for people to modify or spike them with illicit drugs like cannabis oil or our own ketum.. There’s no way to know what’s inside once it’s tampered with. That’s why many countries are starting to phase out open tank systems in favour of closed pod systems that are sealed, tamper-resistant, and easier to regulate.
We need to close the loopholes at our borders before it reaches our streets and schools.
We cannot allow the cops to tell us they don’t know how many vape-drug labs there are in the country. Unacceptable. We taxpayers deserve better. The cops need to be able to find out exactly how many there are, where these labs are, and close each one of them down. Put the crooks behind bars for a long, long time, including those who have been protectin them all this while.
And here’s another aspect we must not overlook — the economic side, especially for young Malaysians.
And here’s another aspect we must not overlook — the economic side, especially for young Malaysians.
A study by the Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce in 2021 showed that 75% of vape retail workers and 82% in manufacturing are Malays, mostly in their 20s. So this isn’t just about products — it’s about jobs, livelihoods, and entrepreneurship for many youths trying to make a decent living.
The industry has grown into a legitimate sector worth over RM3 billion. It supports more than 30,000 jobs and contributed over RM141 million in taxes between 2021 and 2024.
The industry has grown into a legitimate sector worth over RM3 billion. It supports more than 30,000 jobs and contributed over RM141 million in taxes between 2021 and 2024.
This is not some fringe or underground market — it’s real, and it deserves smart, proportionate regulation. Blanket bans, like the one the local editorial is campaigning for, will only wipe out legal businesses and push everything not just under the carpet but also into the shadowy, dangerous underground.
