Putrajaya should restore poison controls immediately instead of repeating mistakes driven by fiscal interests: MMA
PETALING JAYA: Medical practitioners have firmly urged the government not to appeal the High Court’s ruling on liquid nicotine, warning against repeating the 2023 mistake of allowing fiscal considerations to override medical advice.
Malaysian Medical Association president Datuk Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo said the government should immediately relist liquid nicotine under the Poisons Act 1952 and restore public health safeguards following the court ruling.
READ MORE: To vape or not to vape?
The MMA, which appeared as amicus curiae in the case, said its position has remained unchanged since the exemption was gazetted in March 2023.
“Since March 2023, MMA has repeatedly issued statements opposing this decision.
“We warned that removing nicotine from the Poisons Act before any tobacco control law was in place was reckless. We called on the government to relist it. We asked the prime minister to reverse the decision. The record is here for all to see,” Thirunavukarasu said.
He added that the ruling exposed a broader pattern of health policy being shaped by revenue considerations rather than medical evidence.
“The Poisons Board gave unanimous expert advice. It was overruled. The court has confirmed that was wrong. MMA urges the government not to appeal this ruling. Accept it. Learn from it. The health of our children is not a budget line item,” he said.
On May 15, the High Court ruled that the government acted unlawfully when it removed vape-related liquid and gel nicotine from the Poisons List in March 2023, a decision signed by then health minister Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
Judge Datuk Aliza Sulaiman found the move irrational and made without adequate consultation with the Poisons Board, which had unanimously opposed the exemption.
The court also ruled that the decision was primarily driven by economic considerations, noting it followed Budget 2023’s proposal to impose excise duties on nicotine vape products.
The exemption created a regulatory gap lasting one year and seven months until the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 came into force on Oct 1 last year.
The ruling has also reignited debate over how the government should recover the revenue it had expected from vape nicotine excise duties.
Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy founder and chief executive officer Azrul Mohd Khalib argued that the government has a clearer alternative – increasing cigarette excise duties instead of challenging the ruling.
“What the government should do now is increase cigarette excise duties to at least RM0.77 per stick.
It requires very little administrative or regulatory effort. The collection mechanism is already in place. The government simply needs to amend the excise rate,” Azrul wrote in an opinion piece published on the Galen Centre website.
He stated that the Galen Centre estimated in 2025 that such an increase could generate an additional RM771.8 million in tax revenue, significantly higher than the approximately RM209.5 million collected from nicotine vape excise duties since 2023.
However, Azrul cautioned that higher tobacco taxes must be accompanied by stronger Customs enforcement, tighter border controls and action against corruption to effectively curb the illicit cigarette trade.
