The Malaysian Health Coalition is extremely concerned and disappointed with the decision to collect excise taxes on nicotine liquids and gel used in e-cigarettes and vaping devices beginning April 1, 2023.

This decision was announced on March 31, 2023 in the Federal Gazette.

We note that the current Malaysian laws do not explicitly allow or ban e-cigarettes or vaping devices. Therefore, e-cigarettes and vaping devices exist in a legal “no-man’s land” without any regulations to govern their use or reduce their harm to vulnerable populations like children or teenagers.

In order for this excise tax to be legally possible, the health minister had to exempt nicotine liquids and gels from the Poisons Act 1952 (also announced on March 31).

We regret that this exemption was administratively necessary because there is a glaring absence of decision on whether vaping should be allowed or banned in Malaysia, or how vaping should be regulated.

We are deeply concerned about the public health implications of vaping and tobacco use, especially in children and teenagers.

We support the Generational End Game and favor an outright ban on vaping.

Strict regulations will bring Malaysia in line with increasingly prevalent international norms. Countries that partially or completely ban vaping include Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand and many states in the United States.

We urge the government to delay the implementation of excise tax collection and the removal of nicotine from the Poisons List until the Tobacco Regulations & Control Bill is passed, and to debate and decide on the legal status of vaping in Malaysia as part of the Bill.

We further urge the government to impose gradually stricter regulations on tobacco as a whole, with an ambition to achieve a Zero Smoking Nation.

No amount of taxes collected is worth the health of Malaysians, the health of our children, and the health of our health system.

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