Almost one year after the National Fatwa Council of Malaysia decided vaping was haram, or forbidden, in Islam, the government decided to start regulating the e-cigarette market.
As of December 29, 2016, three ministries are in charge of regulating and monitoring the use of e-cigarette in the country. Besides the Ministry of Health, the Ministry Domestic Trade ministry and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) will join forces for this task:
- The Health Ministry: monitoring of the sales of nicotine e-liquids, studies on health impacts,
- MOSTI: (through the Department of Standards Malaysia) developing standards for e-cigarettes and batteries, and for the packaging of nicotine-free e-liquids,
- The Ministry of Domestic Trade: monitoring and enforcement of safety standards of e-cigarettes, batteries; monitoring and enforcement of relevant laws relating to labelling of hardware and nicotine-free e-liquids.
A two-year transition period
During the next two years, a draft to replace the Tobacco Control 2004 Regulations is expected from the Ministry of Health, while Ministry of Domestic Trade will deliver a regulation for e-cigarettes. In this transition period, the sale of e-cigarettes and vaping products will be authorized and regulated by the current amended laws.
The market will be observed by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and the Minister of Health for regulatory mechanisms and health impact studies, respectively.
Malaysia was a flourishing country for vaping business but a cascade of anti-vaping measures decimated the market within few months. More readings about Malaysia.
