No plan to ban sale of vape

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has no plan to ban the sale of vape and will only regulate it, although the National Fatwa Council has ruled that the use of electronic cigarettes and vape is ha­­ram.

The ministry’s decision on the sale of vape was the same as that taken by the Cabinet, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Hilmi Yahaya.

He said the ministry would continue to oversee the sale of vape under the Poisons Act 1952 and Control of Tobacco Product Regulations (Amendment) 2011.

However, he added that it would depend on the special committee chaired by Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah to discuss the decision of the National Fatwa Council.

Hilmi also said that the banning of permits for premises selling vape in different states depended on the local authorities, which have the authority to make any decision on the matter.

On the allegation that two vape flavour manufacturing plants, believed to be owned by certain individual stakeholders in the Government, would be built soon, Hilmi said “the ministry had not received any official report”.

It was claimed that the opening of the factories was aimed at monopolising the industry that brought returns of RM2.8bil to existing ope­rators annually.

The allegation was made recently by the Small and Medium Entre­preneurs Alliance of Malaysia (Ikhlas).

“I have not received any official report and we do not have any information regarding the allegation.

“We (the ministry) do not intend to sabotage anyone,” he told repor­ters at the lobby of Parliament House yesterday.

It was reported recently that Ikhlas president Ridzuan Abdullah claimed that two vape flavour ma­­nufacturing plants would be built in Shah Alam and Johor, and begin operating as soon as the ministry introduced new legislation pertaining to the sale of vape flavours.

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