Is revenue from e-cigarette industry worth the high healthcare costs?

THE Finance Ministry recently announced a proposal for higher taxation of the electronic cigarettes, or vape, industry.

The negative trend of vaping was brought into Malaysia about 11 years ago and today it has become a huge industry worth RM2.27bil according to reports.

It is projected that the industry will further expand to be worth RM10bil in the next few years if the government supports it in one way or the other.

The only positive aspect of this industry is that it can become a revenue earner for our country when a high sin tax is applied.

The negatives, however, are many and can lead to a counter- productive situation where all the revenue will go down the drain because of healthcare expenditure to treat the diseases associated with smoking.

Despite being initially marketed as an alternative to those who want to quit smoking, 97% of vaping liquid sold contains nicotine – and it is unregulated.

This means that vaping is similar to cigarette smoking: it is highly addictive and will increase cardiovascular risks leading to heart attacks and stroke.

A mere 3% of vaping liquid is nicotine free and is currently taxable at 40 sen per millilitre.

Legalising a destructive industry which actually thrives under the lack of enforcement and legal action from the authorities is not, and should never be, the way forward.

All vaping shops should be penalised if found to be selling liquid containing nicotine. Better still would be the enforcement of a “once and for all” ban on these destructive devices.

The burden on government hospitals from the admission of patients suffering the aftermath of smoking cigarettes is overwhelming.

And it’s all at the expense of taxpayers.

While smoking for 15 years is considered significant, we are now seeing young people in their 20s who have only been smoking for five to 10 years coming in with heart attacks and other smoking-related issues.

The government, using taxpayers’ money, is obliged to buy expensive drugs to treat this condition and many others.

We have yet to see the devastating effects of vaping among Malaysian youth and how many “e-pack” years would be considered significant.

I, along with many others opposed to vaping, am firmly convinced that no good could ever come from legalising poison despite the high revenue its sale is projected to bring us.

Proper enforcement from the authorities will help curb the expansion of this industry and stem addiction among our youth.

DR FATIMAH ZAHARAH

I-Medik Activist

I-Medik is the short-form Malay name for the Malaysian Muslim Medical and Health Practitioners Association.