PETALING JAYA: Tighter regulation of nicotine may help control its sale, but striking the wrong balance could drive products underground or encourage wider use, say health experts.
Malaysian Pharmacists Society president Prof Amrahi Buang said the best approach would be a coordinated framework involving both the Poisons Act 1952 and the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852).
He said the Poisons Act should oversee nicotine as a controlled substance, including its concentration and quality, while Act 852 should regulate commercial sales, age restrictions, advertising and usage.
Relying solely on the Poisons Act could push recreational products onto the black market, whereas Act 852 alone might fail to address the chemical safety and handling of nicotine, he said.
“The two laws should complement each other, ensuring that nicotine products are subject to proper chemical controls while their sale and distribution remain under strict public health regulation,” he said.
Amrahi also proposed restricting sales to licensed premises, with pharmacists playing a greater role in ensuring product quality and providing smoking cessation advice.
However, he warned that overly restrictive access could fuel illegal sales and make it harder for smokers to seek help to quit.
“Any pharmacy-based or prescription-only model would therefore require robust anti-smuggling enforcement alongside continued access to safe smoking cessation treatments,” he said.
Public health medicine specialist Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said a balanced regulatory approach would be more effective than either a total ban or an unregulated market.
“A total ban would induce an illicit market while an unregulated market would also be a disaster,” she said.
Dr Sharifa, who is also President of the Malaysian Society for Harm Reduction, said strict age verification, point-of-sale restrictions, approved vendors and verified nicotine products are essential to prevent access by minors.
She suggested using technology to verify buyers’ ages and identities, while limiting sales to approved vendors offering products with verified nicotine content.
Dr Sharifa also warned that excessive restrictions and high taxes could push consumers towards cheaper illicit products or back to conventional cigarettes.
Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy chief executive officer Azrul Mohd Khalib said the government must clarify its intentions, particularly after previously declaring plans to ban vape and e-cigarette products.
He said the latest move to consider exempting nicotine liquids and gels from the Poisons List suggested the government is shifting towards normalising and regulating the products rather than banning them.
Azrul urged the government to ban open-system or refillable devices, which he said are harder to regulate, and restrict flavours to tobacco and mint or menthol to make the products less appealing to young users.
He also called for sales to be limited to speciality stores rather than convenience stores, and for vaping products to be taxed at rates similar to cigarettes and other tobacco products.
