KUALA LUMPUR: The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) has concurred with Health Minister Dar Zaliha Mustafa's concerns about selling vape products to children.
CCC representative Tarmizi Anuwar suggested that the government implement 'smart laws' to regulate the sale and marketing of vape products.
"To avoid or reduce the risk of this happening, the government needs to create a separate law or expand current tobacco regulations for the sale and marketing of vape.
"There are several steps that the government can take, including introducing smart regulations and enforcing strict age restrictions on vaping devices and liquids at the point of sale and using modern age verification technology for online sales.
"The absence of laws will make it easier for children to obtain vapes from black market activities and illegal trade," he said in a statement.
Commenting on Dr Zaliha's statement regarding the classification of nicotine under the Poisons Act 1952, he said nicotine replacement products were already exempted from the act in October last year.
"This means that nicotine is no longer considered a non-toxic product.
"Technically, the vape can be considered as a nicotine replacement product because the main purpose is to be used as an aid to quit smoking.
"However, this is one of the areas of public policy that still need to be improved so that there is no confusion," he said.
Tarmizi added that this law is also important in differentiating vape products between responsible adult users and children.
"This law is important to ensure that adult consumers have a legitimate choice to choose less risky and harmful products and move towards a healthier lifestyle.
"The government is also not justified in using this argument to limit access to responsible users because it has not yet been proven about reports or articles that link vaping as a gateway to smoking," added Tarmizi.
