Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24): Banning e-cigarettes or vaping products will only encourage consumers to continue buying unregulated products, says British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT Malaysia) managing director Erik Stoel.

"Already, Malaysian law enforcement agencies are facing a huge task of clamping down on illegal cigarettes. The last thing Malaysia needs to deal with is another illegal product boosting an already thriving black economy," he said in a statement today.

While it supports Malaysia's move to introduce new laws to regulate e-cigarettes, BAT Malaysia pointed out that recent events in the US show how important it is to have effective regulations and enforcement to ensure product safety and to prevent youth access.

"It is disappointing that up until today, we have not been consulted on these new regulations, especially at a time when effective regulations and policies are required to ensure that vaping products are safe and not sold to the underaged.

"There needs to be a consultation process together with the industry to ensure robust quality and safety standards requirements are considered such as those set by the British Standards Institution on e-cigarettes and e-liquids," said Stoel.

On its part, Stoel said BAT Malaysia wants to work with the Malaysian regulators to ensure that clear and responsible regulatory frameworks are developed.

BAT Malaysia does not market its e-cigarettes and e-liquid products in Malaysia presently.

However, globally, BAT is the world's second largest vapour company, providing products to more than 9 million consumers worldwide.

"As a group, we have invested billions of dollars in the research and development of our potentially reduced-risk products and the ingredients and components used in these products have been scrutinised by our team of 50 toxicologists for their suitability for vaping. Consistent with this, we do not include oils containing THC or vitamin E acetate," said Stoel.

New York health officials early this month announced that they are investigating the compound vitamin E acetate as a possible cause of the vaping-associated lung illnesses in the state.

"The e-cigarette industry is fast growing in Malaysia and some reports have cited Malaysia to be one of the larger e-cigarettes markets globally as more and more adult smokers are switching to this potentially reduced-risk alternative," said Stoel.

"We believe that with the appropriate regulations and controls in place, the industry has the potential to create a new stream of job opportunities, attract foreign direct investments into the country and contribute to the Malaysia economy," he added.

BAT Malaysia shares closed 4 sen or 0.21% higher at RM19.46 today, with 289,700 shares done, bringing a market capitalisation of RM5.56 billion.

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