Malaysia’s Home Ministry recommends National Poison Centre study IQOS tobacco heating device to prepare for potential legislation
ALOR SETAR: The Home Ministry has recommended that the National Poison Centre conduct a study on the IQOS tobacco heating device manufactured by a leading cigarette company.
Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said although the health effects of using the device are not yet known, an initial study can prepare the government for enacting related laws.
“Even before the vape issue has subsided, the world’s leading cigarette company has already created another device,” he said during a seminar on drug symptoms and appreciation of the National Anti-Drug Agency.
“Perhaps what the National Poison Centre can also start detecting is IQOS.”
Saifuddin explained that unlike regular cigarettes, the device functions to heat tobacco rather than burn it.
The device’s marketing campaign advises non-smokers not to start, smokers to try quitting, and those who cannot quit to switch to their product.
“Whether it has any health effects or not, we don’t know yet,” he acknowledged.
He described IQOS as an innovation that poses a challenge to the country, though health-related matters fall under the Health Ministry’s jurisdiction.
The minister emphasized that laws and regulations relating to drug abuse and poisons cannot remain static but must be dynamic to adapt to new substances.
“We cannot catch up with the discovery of new substances, new poisons,” Saifuddin stated.
“If we wait for them to be included in the list of new poisons, then we will start working, nothing will happen.”
He suggested that amendments to laws could be generic while still covering legal requirements.
“If we wait for everything to be perfect, of course there will be room for it to slip through,” he added.
Meanwhile, the government has approved RM500 million for the National Anti-Drug Agency to carry out its essential task in curbing drug abuse.
Saifuddin stressed that responsibility should not be borne by one party alone but requires support from others including the private sector. – Bernama
