Malaysian Consumer Association Urges Ban on E-Cigarettes and GIE

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) in Malaysia is urging the incoming government to adopt the intergenerational ban (GEG) as soon as possible to prohibit the sale of tobacco products to people born after 2007. They are also calling for a complete ban on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).

Photo courtesy of NST.

Allowing the use of electronic cigarettes may pose a significant problem of addiction to drugs for future generations. In November 2019, CAP warned that "e-cigarettes should be banned rather than regulated, as it is impossible to monitor the market for hundreds of legal and illegal e-cigarette brands and verify the ingredients in these e-liquids.

In early November, the federal police in Bukit Aman confirmed concerns over openly selling electronic cigarettes. As such, the incoming government should take action to implement a generational ban and fully prohibit e-cigarette products. The reason being that e-liquids containing illegal drugs can be packaged in bottles with counterfeit labels. The government cannot realistically monitor the products being sold by approximately 3,000 domestic e-cigarette retailers.

Regulators say that part of the reason for this is that the US Food and Drug Administration has not yet reviewed the ingredients or established standards. There are many different ingredients and flavors in various electronic cigarette brands. Some e-liquids may contain illegal drugs such as tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol (both compounds of marijuana), N,N-Dimethylacetamide, gamma-hydroxybutyrate, and ketamine.

The components of e-cigarette liquid may need to be tested using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, which can only be found in modern analytical chemistry laboratories. These tests are expensive, and are an unnecessary financial burden for governments.

A study conducted in Malaysia in 2017 revealed that 54% of the surveyed e-cigarette users obtained zero-nicotine e-liquids from the black market, while 30% obtained homemade e-liquids. The government should not be naïve in thinking that there is no black market for e-liquids. In fact, e-liquids can be easily produced with basic equipment.

How can the government differentiate between legitimate e-liquids and illicit drug liquids packaged in e-cigarette devices? Therefore, the CAP once again urges the incoming government to enforce a generational ban, including a comprehensive ban on e-cigarette products.

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