PETALING JAYA: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) has stressed that protecting public health should take precedence over concerns from vape dealers over potential economic losses from bans.In a statement, Fomca said plans by several states to ban the sale of vape-related products marked a progressive step towards fulfilling the country’s responsibility under the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), a public health treaty ratified by 181 countries.
Malaysia acceded to the convention in 2005 and remains committed to achieving the FCTC’s target of reducing the use of smoking products to below 5% by 2040, said Fomca.
“Global experience has shown that the partial regulation of smoking products is insufficient to achieve significant reductions in the burden of smoking-related diseases. Therefore, the ban on vape sales must continue, supported by firm and consistent enforcement actions,” said Fomca.
“We urge all state governments to remain steadfast in upholding the principles of the WHO FCTC and to accelerate efforts to protect Malaysians – especially children and youth – from the dangers of nicotine addiction and synthetic drug abuse via vape devices.
“The future of Malaysia’s public health must not be traded for short-term profits.”
This comes after a group of vape traders in Terengganu warned that the upcoming state-wide ban on the sale of vapes and e-cigarettes could see its 169 association members lose RM5 million monthly.
The traders called for a longer grace period after arguing that three months was too short to sell off stocks and venture into new businesses.
On April 18, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the issuance of licences to vape and e-cigarette traders was under the purview of state and local authorities.
Dzulkefly said the provisions of the tobacco control by-laws allowed state governments to set policies for the sale of vape and e-cigarette devices in their own jurisdictions.
