CAP Calls for a Total Ban on Smoking and Vaping to Prevent a Public Health Crisis
The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) maintains that the only effective way to control smoking, vaping, and their related activities is to implement a total ban on smoking products. Illicit drug-laced vape liquids create drug addicts and cause premature deaths from drug overdoses, leading to a public health crisis that will place a heavy burden on the country’s healthcare system. Past tobacco control efforts have shown that partial regulations are ineffective.
For example, when the Ministry of Health (MOH) introduced pictorial health warnings (PHWs) on 1 January 2009, the tobacco industry and its lobbyists repeatedly attempted to delay its implementation, citing increased production costs. They requested deadline extensions of 15, 18, and 24 months but ultimately met the six-month deadline imposed by MOH.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)’s Clearinghouse for Tobacco Control (C-Tob) monitored industry activities throughout 2007 before PHW implementation. The industry aggressively responded with over 60 innovative packaging designs and free promotional gifts. Cigarette retailers were provided with free display stands to promote new products. Given their ability to rapidly create new packaging, their claims of an inability to comply with PHW regulations lacked credibility.
A similar scenario is unfolding with the enforcement of the tobacco product display ban under the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852), set to take effect in April 2025. The industry argues that compliance is costly, but vape retailers are already engaging in aggressive marketing tactics. Vape shops feature full-height glass frontages displaying products prominently, while convenience stores use attractive display cases and advertisements. Many vape product promotions are positioned at ground level, raising concerns about their targeting of children. Additionally, with the impending ban, online sales have surged, allowing easy access to vape products with minimal age verification measures.
CAP warns that vaping can serve as a gateway to addiction to illicit drugs, necessitating an outright ban. Drug-laced vape liquids are particularly dangerous, as they can be difficult to detect unless the liquid is visible or emits a strong chemical odour. In many cases, the effects of inhaling such substances—hallucinations, numbness, anxiety, and paranoia—are the only indicators.
Immediate government action is required to prevent a large-scale drug addiction crisis. A growing list of illegal substances—including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, LSD analogues, and synthetic hallucinogens—can be infused into vape liquids. The presence of drug-laced vape products in Malaysia is well-documented. Ganja-laced vape liquids have been on the black market since 2015, and in 2023, so-called “Magic Mushroom” vapes were found to contain synthetic drug cocktails rather than natural psilocybin.
Police recorded 119 cases of drug-laced vape liquid seizures in 2024, increased from 32 cases in 2023, highlighting the growing illicit market. In February 2025, MOH confirmed that a staggering 65.6 per cent of the vape liquids seized in 2023 and 2024 contained dangerous drugs.
Illicit drugs can easily be dissolved into vape liquids and sold as refills, as demonstrated by the raid on two houses and a shop lot in Seri Kembangan in January 2025. The availability of such concoctions will lead to a rise in drug addiction and potentially overdose cases.
CAP calls for a sweeping ban on all smoking products to curb the spread of illegal drug addiction through vaping. If decisive action is not taken now, drug addiction could reach an irreversible crisis level. The government must recognise that the problem extends far beyond confiscation figures—what we see is merely the tip of the iceberg.
Mohideen Abdul Kader
President
Consumers’ Association of Penang
Letter to the Editor, 17 March 2025