KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — The capital city of Kuala Lumpur risks becoming a concentrated point for vape sales as more states move to ban e-cigarettes, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) warned.
DBKL cited legal and jurisdictional constraints that complicate City Hall’s ability to regulate retail vape sales.
DBKL health and environment department senior deputy director Dr Nor Halizam Ismail explained that while DBKL has never issued licences specifically for vape, shisha, or cigarette sales, enforcement becomes difficult when vape products are sold through general retail outlets like convenience stores or electronics shops — businesses that are not vape-specific.
“If it’s about DBKL not issuing specific licences for vape shops – I think that’s clear. But let’s say it’s a convenience store that clearly sells vape, vape devices, or cigarettes. What aspect applies?
“Does the shopkeeper need a licence from the Ministry of Health (MOH) or another body? Or do they need MOH approval under Act 852, or else the shop must be closed?” she said at a public briefing on the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852) held here yesterday.
She added that enforcement is further complicated by overlaps with other federal agencies, including the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN).
“Then there’s the licensing issue. We can’t classify vape under electronics anymore. Right now, we issue licences under the ‘electronics’ category. But once Act 852 was gazetted, we asked the Licensing Department to stop processing vape licence applications until there’s a proper policy or directive from the Mayor — or possibly the federal territories minister.”
Dr Nor Halizam warned that if vape remains legal and accessible in Kuala Lumpur while neighbouring states ban it, the city could inadvertently become a centralised market for vape sales.
“If we look at other states — Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Johor — they’ve all banned vape. But in Kuala Lumpur, it may be a bit more difficult, because KL is a city. If we do allow [licensing for vape sales], it will be very heavy for us.
“First, if we allow it, we have to investigate, and we have to enforce it. Because when all the surrounding states have banned it, and we have factories producing vape products nearby, the sales will all be concentrated in Kuala Lumpur. You can imagine how it will be from an enforcement standpoint,” Dr Nor Halizam said.
“I think the Federal Territories Health and Environmental Department enforcement team will be overwhelmed because they have to make sure the [warning] logo is there, and then some shops may need to be shut down. So these are the things we have to look at and examine carefully.”
Dr Nor Halizam said City Hall plans to hold discussions with internal departments, the legal unit, the health department, and possibly other stakeholders as there are “several issues to consider” in banning vape sales in Kuala Lumpur.
She noted that, unlike other states, Kuala Lumpur does not have a state executive councillor (exco) for health.
“In KL, we are slightly different because we don’t have a Health Exco. Our minister is under the Prime Minister’s Department, which oversees the Federal Territories of Putrajaya, Labuan, and Kuala Lumpur. If we bring this matter up, we will have to wait for a decision from the top.”
Malaysia does not have local council elections; the mayor of Kuala Lumpur and other cities and towns are appointed like ordinary civil servants. While state governments are elected, the federal government presumes “control” of DBKL through the Federal Territories Ministry.
Federal Territories Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa herself is not an elected representative in Kuala Lumpur, but is Sekijang MP from Johor.
Several states, including Kedah, Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Perlis, have announced or begun implementing vape retail bans (Johor banned vape nine years ago in 2016). These actions are taken not through federal law, but by using state or local authority powers to deny business licences.
“Most states banning vape are doing so through licensing,” Dr Hairul Nizam Abd Hamid, senior principal assistant director at the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) disease control division, told the DBKL briefing yesterday. “In Johor and Kelantan, they don’t issue licences for vape-selling premises, so they can’t be sold.”
“At the federal level, we regulate the product, not business licensing,” he added. “Licensing is the power of local authorities (PBT). That’s how states like Kelantan and Johor are doing it. Negeri Sembilan is in the process, and so are several others. So far, eight states have proposed the same approach.”
Mohd Rizal Rusuli, environmental health officer at the Federal Territories Department of Health and Environment under the MOH, said Act 852 only regulates the act of selling, not the seller or premises.
“The sale of cigarettes or tobacco must be licensed by the National Kenaf and Tobacco Board (LKTN), which also licenses manufacturers and sellers. Act 852 only covers sales control, not premises,” he said.
In other words, Act 852 governs product-level aspects such as registration, packaging, and sales restrictions, while business licensing remains under the jurisdiction of local authorities or agencies like LKTN.
Chandrakant Patel, chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Smoke-Free (“Bebas Asap Rokok” or BAR) campaign, urged faster action from DBKL. “We have to work fast to cope with other states. We’re supposed to be a model, but we don’t have a Health Exco, so we have to work harder to keep up.”
Kuala Lumpur Mayor Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the city supports Act 852, describing it as a “significant symbol of health reform” and reaffirmed DBKL’s aim to make Kuala Lumpur a smoke-free city.
“DBKL, as a local authority, is committed to playing an important role as a frontline enforcer of this Act,” she said in her keynote speech.
Maimunah said DBKL has already carried out enforcement at restaurants and shopping malls, issuing warnings and fines under the Federal Territory Food Handling By-Laws for smoking offences by food handlers. Additional enforcement is ongoing at Dataran Merdeka and Kuala Lumpur’s wholesale markets, where smoking is banned under local by-laws.
She also said the DBKL Department of Health and Environment, together with the Federal Territories Department of Health and Environment, has issued 3,589 notices under Act 852 between October 2024 and May 2025.
Under the KL Smoke-Free programme, which falls under DBKL’s Local Agenda 21 — a community-based sustainable development initiative — Maimunah said the city remains committed to its public health goals.
“This commitment is proven by the fact that no vape licence has ever been issued in KL to date,” she said.
