Calm down, vapers.
We hear that the Health Ministry may not be confiscating your vape juice (e-juice) after all. Instead, they are looking to implement an excise tax on e-cigarettes and vapes so that it could slow down or even end the vaping trend.
According to The Malay Mail Online, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam told reporters at the Parliament earlier today that the Ministry is currently studying legal terms of taxing products with nicotine content.
He said:
If the e-cigarettes contain nicotine, under the law we have the power to give it the same treatment as cigarettes.
“That means if cigarettes have excise duty, e-cigarettes also can be charged excise duty, but we are studying the legal procedures now,” he added.
Dr. Subramaniam said that they’ve been trying to stop vaping culture from replacing the cigarette smoking culture.
“Within just a year, e-cig and vape users have increased tremendously. Now there are over a million users,” he said. He added that it’s a “worrying development”, further citing a video that showed a father passing an e-cig to his 3-year-old child.
In the report, the Ministry is said to have begun cracking down on shops that are manufacturing, distributing, and selling nicotine-based products without license.
Dr. Subramaniam added that these shops will need to obtain a permit from the Pharmacy Board as nicotine is categorised as a Group C poison under the Poisons Act 1952 (revision 1989) and Food Act 1983.
News of a ban on vaping surfaced last week when Dr. Subramaniam revealed that vaping will be banned once they have settled the legalities. This was followed by an incident where a man’s vape battery suddenly burst into flames on board the Malindo Air flight OD1003.
However, Malaysia’s Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob later confirmed that the Cabinet had decided against imposing a ban on electronic cigarettes/vape or vaping. Deputy Health Minister also confirmed that there were no plans to ban or regulate vaping at the moment.
So, do you think the Health Ministry should implement taxes on nicotine-based products? Will it kill the vaping trend? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
Sources: The Malay Mail Online, NST Online.
