PUTRAJAYA: Caretaker Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin yesterday said the perception that electronic cigarettes or vaping is not harmful needed to be corrected as users are at risk of getting “e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury” (Evali).
His words echoed an exclusive report in theSun on July 12, which quoted Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah as saying that vaping is not a safe alternative to smoking.
Speaking on the growing popularity of vaping, Noor Hisham said the design and branding of vaping products make their content appear safe, undermining the credibility and effectiveness of health warnings.
The Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce confirmed the annual value of the industry was RM2.27 billion.
The Health Ministry 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey stated there were 1.12 million vapers in the country.
Noor Hisham said the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004 has specific regulations on the packaging and labelling of tobacco products, which include mandatory health warnings.
“This measure is important to decrease smoking initiation and increase smoking cessation. Under a proposed Act, new smoking products such as e-cigarettes will need to follow regulations on packaging and labelling.”
Yesterday, Khairy said Evali was first diagnosed in 2019 in the US, with 2,800 cases of lung injury and 68 deaths involving the use of electronic cigarettes and vaping.
He added that he was informed two cases were reported in 2019, eight cases in 2021 and four cases were recorded between June and September last year.
“Evali is serious. Scientifically, it has been proven that vaping is not something that comes without harm,” he said when launching the “Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Evali”.
On management, Khairy said early treatment can be given to patients so that long-term complications, as well as treatment costs, can be reduced.
“The estimated cost of treating an Evali patient admitted to hospital for four days is RM50,297.37.“
Khairy said the use of electronic cigarettes or vaping can also cause numbness, palpitations and hallucinations.
“This situation is very risky and can increase the rate of morbidity and death,” he said, adding that the Health Ministry was monitoring cases of respiratory symptoms related to the use of electronic cigarettes.
