Sale of devices and liquids continues despite regulations
PETALING JAYA: At a glance, the shelves don’t look out of the ordinary. But ask the right question and the drawer slides open.
Despite the enforcement of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852), unregulated vape devices and vape liquids with high nicotine content are still being sold at physical stores across the Klang Valley.
At several shops here, bottles of vape juice containing nicotine levels above the permitted 20mg/ml are sold openly.
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They come without the mandatory health warnings required under the law.
“If you want those with a stronger hit, you can go for these ones as they have higher nicotine content,” said a seller.
Disposable vape devices exceeding the 3,000 puffs limit have also been found to be sold openly from the start of the year.
This was apparent at stores that previously withheld the products.
“We just want to clear the old stock. Previously, we refrained from selling them and even kept them away to abide by the rules.
“But lately, we just began selling them again so that we can finish them off,” said another seller here, who declined to be named.
At other stores here, the products are not openly displayed but will be shown if asked.
“If you want to get it, best to do it now as the stocks will not last for long.
“Demand has been high and we just want to get rid of it fast owing to enforcement checks,” said a seller who produced the items upon request.
Other vape shops, meanwhile, are steadfast in not selling unregulated products.
“Other sellers can do what they want, but we won’t. It’s bad enough that the government is pushing for a ban, so we should all play by the rules,” said a seller who wanted to be known only as Amin.
In the digital marketplace, the situation has eased slightly.
The products are no longer sold on major e-commerce sites but are still easily found through individual sites after a simple search.
At these sites, there are no age verification procedures needed to make a purchase apart from indicating if one is aged 18 and above at the website’s landing page.
Payments can be made through either debit or credit cards as well as e-wallets.
This too, is a violation under Act 852, which requires sellers to obtain proof that an individual is aged 18 and above before selling the products.
Act 852 came into force on Oct 1, 2024, while its full implementation began on Oct 1, 2025, with the launch of Ops Selamat Paru-Paru (Ops Selamat PaPa), to further strengthen enforcement activities under the Act.
Phase one covers regulations including the prohibition of smoking products from being sold in educational institutions, online platforms, markets and vending machines.
The second phase of enforcement includes a display ban on smoking products.
Phase three, meanwhile, regulates how smoking products are packaged.
Earlier this year, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said Malaysia is moving towards a total ban of vapes, beginning with open system devices.
An open system vape refers to a refillable device where users manually fill a cartridge with their own e-liquid.
He had said that the ban on these devices was “almost there”, highlighting how the open system is prone to misuse, with synthetic drugs having found their way into the product.
