VAPING may be touted as a ‘better’ alternative to smoking cigarettes as it is laced with toxic chemicals however, it can still cause detrimental side effects, especially in minors.
In April this year, it was reported that the government had legalised the sale of nicotine liquids and gels used in electronic cigarettes and vaping devices, exempting them as controlled substances under the Poisons Act 1952 which triggered an outcry from many health organisations and the general public as there are no laws regulating the sale of these products even to minors.
Recently, journalists from news portal 101 East under Al-Jazeera have uncovered that these vaping devices were being sold to underaged people despite the signage displayed in their shops prohibiting those below 18 years of age from purchasing the products.
In a documentary posted on their YouTube channel, the team of journalists went undercover in six shops in Kuala Lumpur to see if these establishments would sell their products to ‘someone who looks like a teenager.’
The journalist who was undercover entered a vape shop and was immediately greeted by the sales staff and they answered her inquiries without asking for any identification to ensure that she was of the legal age to purchase the product.
Even when she made the transaction when purchasing the item, the staff was shown to still not inquire her age.
“Of the six shops we visited, none of them asked for ID (identification card) despite four of them displaying 18+ (above 18) signs,” the narrator in the documentary said.
The documentary also highlighted that the companies selling vape products, the age restriction regulations are ‘self-enforced’ and not the law.
