Malaysia's E-cigarette Industry Suffers Losses from Frequent Raids

Sep.05.2022
Malaysia's E-cigarette Industry Suffers Losses from Frequent Raids
Malaysia's e-cigarette association claims that recent raids have caused significant losses for e-cigarette retailers. Officials deny targeting the industry.

The Malaysian E-Cigarette Association has claimed that frequent raids have led to significant losses for e-cigarette businesses. (Source: Agence France-Presse)


After a recent series of raids and seizures by authorities, the Ministry of Health did not crack down on e-cigarettes or e-cigarette distributors.


Dr. Noor Azmi Ghazali, the Deputy Minister of Health, has stated that the raids conducted on premises selling electronic cigarettes were not reckless actions, but rather carried out for specific reasons in accordance with existing laws and regulations.


No one wants to oppress (e-cigarette entrepreneurs). We want people to stay healthy.


I believe taking action is for certain reasons," he said during a press conference after hosting an emergency first aid training program and demonstrating the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at the Taiping Zoo and Night Safari.


Recently, Ridhwan Rosli (Secretary General of the Malaysian Vape Entrepreneurs Association) stated that the surprise raids and confiscation of goods by the Ministry of Health in the Klang Valley have severely affected small and medium-sized businesses, resulting in millions of ringgit in losses.


According to reports, Ridhwan stated that the surprise raids appeared to be putting pressure on the industry as they disagreed with the government's proposal to treat electronic cigarettes like traditional cigarettes and the 2022 Tobacco and Smoking Control Act.


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