This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 22, 2015.

KUALA LUMPUR: The move by some state governments to ban the sale of e-cigarettes or vapes is not on orders from the health ministry, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya said yesterday.

The decisions of the respective states are made by their local authorities, he added, stressing that to date, the ministry has not issued any directive for vapes to be banned, in line with the Cabinet’s decision not to do so.

Instead, the ministry was looking at ways to monitor and control the use of vapes, he told reporters in Parliament yesterday on the sidelines of the Dewan Negara sitting.

“Any prohibitions on vapes are under the jurisdiction of the local authorities. The special committee on vapes will be issuing a statement soon. For us (the ministry), we will abide by the Cabinet’s decision which is not to ban vapes, so we are instead going to control their use,” he said.

Hilmi was in the Dewan Negara yesterday as the health ministry’s representative to answer questions from senators.

Among the regulations being considered was an amendment to the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004, where the word “vapour” would be included so that vaping would fall under the same law as smoking.

“We have regulations under laws on poisonous substances whereby vape fluids with nicotine can be placed under Category C, for which one needs a prescription in order to [make a] purchase.

“At the same time, we might amend the Tobacco Control Act 2004 to include vapour along with smoke so that the law can be applied to vaping in non-smoking areas,” Hilmi said.

Under the law, nicotine is considered a Category C poison, which can only be sold or supplied by a registered medical practitioner.

Johor and Kelantan have banned the sale of vapes and related products, while Selangor is said to be mulling the matter. Kuala Lumpur authorities have stopped issuing new licences to vape traders.

The health ministry had also set up a technical committee to study and advise policymakers on the health impact of vaping. — The Malaysian Insider