PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry’s proposal to raise vape liquids excise duty by 1,000% is a bold step to curb nicotine addiction; however, it must come with stricter enforcement and control measures to be effective, say anti-vaping advocates.
Consumers Association of Penang senior education officer NV Subbarow said the proposed tax hike could send a strong message to both vapers and parents who enable the bad habit.
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He said many parents still give money to their children despite knowing it will be spent on vape products, and the proposed tax hike could serve as a lesson.
Subbarow added that the government should emulate countries where continued sharp price increases and firm enforcement have successfully reduced tobacco and vape use.
“Some people may argue that the higher tax will lead to smuggling, but the solution is not to back down; it’s to give more power to the authorities.
“Increasing fines and jail sentences with strong enforcement can help reduce illegal sales and vaping among youth,” he said.
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Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control secretary-general Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said the measure could significantly reduce casual and experimental use among young people.
“The tax hike is a strong tool, but to achieve a large and sustained reduction in youth vape use, we need more levers as part of a comprehensive strategy.
“This should include stricter flavour restrictions, minimum pricing, strong enforcement of age limits, and marketing or advertising restrictions,” he said.
Muhammad Sha’ani added that these restrictions must also be paired with complementary measures such as data collection and research on youth nicotine product prevalence, health effects and behavioural trends.
Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control president Assoc Prof Dr M. Murallitharan said the increased tax policy must be balanced between cigarettes and vaping products to avoid creating a price gap that encourages nicotine users to switch between the two.
“In the past, the vape tax was disproportionately low compared to the cigarette tax, which made vaping the cheaper option, which is why we saw a rapid rise in vape use – especially among young people. This might happen again in reverse if the tobacco product tax is not raised proportionally with the vape product tax to discourage people from trying out either nicotine product,” he said.
He said that while increasing the vape tax would help correct the imbalance, policymakers must anticipate public reaction and communicate the rationale clearly.
“Ultimately, the focus should be on reducing nicotine use overall, regardless of the delivery mechanism,” he added.
