The Malaysian e-cigarette industry advocacy group (MVIA) said the government's proposal to introduce a ban on e-cigarette sales to parliament in July is unfair to the local e-cigarette industry.

Its president Rizani Zakaria said e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes are two completely different products and should not be regulated in the same way.

"The decision by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to equate the vaping and tobacco industries by banning the product is unfair to the vaping industry."

He said in a recent statement: "Internationally, various studies have shown that the two products are very different. In fact, e-cigarettes have been shown to be less harmful than traditional cigarettes and can help smokers quit.

He said the United Kingdom's (UK) health agency, Public Health England, also reported that e-cigarettes were 95% less harmful than conventional cigarettes.

This data has been endorsed by other countries such as Canada, New Zealand and various public health agencies around the world.

In fact, recently, in the UK, e-cigarettes have been proposed as a smoking cessation treatment tool.

Rizzani said that despite the evidence presented by various parties, the Ministry of Health has insisted, refusing to look at the science and facts published at the international level.

"The MVIA recommends that the Ministry of Health and the government be transparent in this matter and seek the opinion and evidence of medical experts from abroad such as the UK, New Zealand and Canada, rather than choosing to listen to the anti-vaping industry," he said.

Rizani also reiterated that the government has delayed regulation of the vaping industry since 2015.

According to the 2022 budget sheet, the government should implement taxes and regulations on the vaping industry in January this year.

“To date, no action has been taken. The Ministry of Health has not issued any vaping guidelines for the industry to prepare regulations, nor have any consultation sessions with members of the industry,” Rizani said.

In Budget 2022, Finance Minister Senator Tunku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tunku Abdul Aziz announced that the government will impose a tax of RM1.20 per milliliter on e-liquids, which will start in January 2022 effective.

However, the government delayed the move to an indeterminate date.

“Previously, industry insiders said that the announced tax rate was too high and asked the government to re-examine the tax rate. The high tax rate will significantly increase the price of e-cigarette products, which will have a negative impact on the industry. So far, we have not received any information from the government on this issue. Now, the Ministry of Health wants to propose a long-term ban on the sale of e-cigarettes,” Rizani said.

He said the vaping industry was asking the government for more discussions on vaping industry policy.

MVIA is open to any discussion.

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