KUALA LUMPUR, August 19 — The Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS), Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), and MyWatch have urged Putrajaya to clarify the legal and regulatory status of nicotine vape.
MPS said with the government now having dropped its appeal against a High Court ruling that struck down the declassification of liquid and gel nicotine as a scheduled poison, attention must turn towards the practical implications of the High Court judgement.
“We welcome the government’s decision to withdraw the appeal. MPS has been consistent on this issue from the beginning: nicotine policy must be driven by public health and scientific evidence,” said MPS president Prof Amrahi Buang in a statement today.
“The question now is not what happened in 2023, but what Malaysia does next. We need clarity, consistency, and a regulatory framework that protects the public while ensuring that those already dependent on nicotine have access to evidence-based cessation support.
“MPS calls on the Ministry of Health (MOH) to provide clear and timely guidance on the regulatory status, sale and supply of liquid and gel nicotine, including how the Poisons Act 1952 and the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 [Act 852] will operate together following this development.”
CodeBlue broke the story yesterday on Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad and the government withdrawing their appeal against a High Court decision last May that found the 2023 removal of liquid and gel nicotine used in e-cigarettes and vape from the Poisons List to be “irrational” or unlawful.
Justice Aliza Sulaiman, who is now a Court of Appeal judge, also ruled that the March 31, 2023 order gazetted by then-Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa to take the addictive substance out of the list of scheduled poisons was done without proper or adequate consultation with the Poisons Board.
This exemption – which paved the way for taxation on nicotine-containing e-liquids – was implemented before the enactment and enforcement of Act 852, leaving a lacuna in the regulation of nicotine vapes for one and a half years, with the product legally permissible for sale even to children during that time.
Act 852 doesn’t ban nicotine vape, but merely prohibits the product for minors aged below 18 years.
Group C poisons – which liquid nicotine was initially classified as, prior to its unlawful removal from the Poisons List under the Poisons Act – can only be dispensed by a licensed pharmacist or a registered medical practitioner.
CodeBlue previously wrote in an analysis that the High Court judgement meant that nicotine vape is effectively prohibited for retail sale, or a complete de facto ban, and that Act 852 can’t be operationalised for nicotine vape specifically because that law treats nicotine vape as a legal product for retail sale (for adults) outside of a pharmacy or medical setting.
MMA thanked Dzulkefly and the government for placing public health, particularly the protection of children, at the centre of their decision to drop their appeal against the High Court ruling.
“With the appeal withdrawn, the High Court ruling stands. MMA calls on the health minister to immediately clarify that liquid and gel nicotine remain under the Poisons List and whether this means the retail sale of nicotine vapes must cease immediately,” MMA president Dr R. Arasu told CodeBlue in a statement.
“Clear and coordinated enforcement directions must now follow. There should be no ambiguity for enforcement agencies, retailers, or the public.”
Anti-tobacco group MyWatch described the government’s withdrawal of its appeal as the “right decision”, but questioned why the appeal was filed in the first place.
“Even though the appeal has now been withdrawn, public perception cannot simply be withdrawn with it,” MyWatch president Roslizawati Ali said in a statement today.
“The episode has unfortunately created an impression — rightly or wrongly — that commercial or other considerations may at times be competing with public health considerations in decisions involving nicotine and vape.
“MyWatch believes MOH should now explain clearly why the appeal was initially pursued, what considerations led to its withdrawal, and most importantly, what the legal and regulatory position on liquid nicotine will be following this decision.”
The anti-tobacco group urged the government to prohibit the recreational sale of nicotine-containing vape and electronic cigarettes, besides reconsidering principles underlying the abandoned generational end game (GEG) policy.
“We thank Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad and the Ministry of Health for taking this step. But the work of rebuilding confidence begins now.”
