Vapers fuming at why cigarettes are allowed

PETALING JAYA: Vapers are fuming in light of the Health Ministry’s plan to ban vaping, with some questioning the real reason behind the action.

Malaysian Organisation of Vape Entity (MOVE) president Samsul Kamal Ariffin said he felt there was a different agenda.

“If the ministry is concerned about our health, why not ban cigarettes altogether?

“Why only put health warnings on the cigarette packets? It does not make sense,” he said.

He said people who picked up vaping were those who wanted to quit smoking.

Iamsul said a study by MOVE showed that 75% of vapers wanted to continue to vape or would go back to smoking if vaping was banned.

“Most of them will pick up the bad habit of smoking again. Moreover, the black market for contraband vape will also thrive.”

Samsul said although vaping was not exactly good for health, it was 95% safer than smoking.

He said the figure was obtained from Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos, a researcher on vape-safety research, with whom MOVE has been in constant contact.

Although the ministry had repeatedly claimed that vape was detrimental to health, he asked why it had not revealed empirical studies to support the statements.

Samsul said MOVE was a non-governmental organisation set up in May to push for regulations on the distribution, sale and use of vape.

“What MOVE wants is to act as a bridge between vapers and the Government. We are not a pressure group,” he said, adding that MOVE would like to work with the Government in solving the issues.

Samsul acknowledged that there were problems related to the vaping community including underaged vapers and the contents of e-liquid.

“In the end, vapers just want to quit smoking. Don’t ban it, that’s all,” he said.