INTERACTIVE: Deadly habit of Malaysian teens

Various vape devices can easily purchased by school children. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star

PETALING JAYA: Nearly one in five adolescents in Malaysia use tobacco products, underscoring the high stakes in the country's anti-smoking efforts.

An anti-smoking law was passed by Parliament last month, but many lawmakers expressed disappointment during the debate over the removal of a generational endgame provision from the Bill.

The provision would have banned the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products to those born in 2007 and the years after.

The following are key statistics on how young Malaysians are increasingly hooked on the habit.

Rise of vaping

According to the Adolescent Health Survey 2022, 18.5% of adolescents (individuals aged between 13-17 years) use tobacco products.

The survey by the Health ministry found e-cigarettes/vape use increasing from 9.8% in 2017 to 14.9% last year.

Meanwhile, smoking cigarettes trend declined to 6.2% as compared to 2017 at 13.8%.

Boys most affected

E-cigarette/vape prevalence in male adolescents is at 23.5%, almost four times higher than female adolescents (6.2%).

Cigarette smoking is meanwhile six time higher among boys (10.8%) compared to girls (1.7%).

Vaping has however doubled in popularity among girls, with prevalence rising from 2.8% in 2017 to 6.2% in 2022.

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Peers are the main pathways

The teens surveyed said they mainly picked up the smoking and vaping habit from friends.

Smoking related diseases and deaths

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Data from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) shows that about 19.9% of the total cancer deaths in Malaysia are related to tobacco use.

The IHME’s 2019 data shows that smoking is one of the risk factors in more than 13% of deaths in Malaysia.