Special committee on vaping to hold first meeting tomorrow

Following the setting up of the special task force on e-cigarette or vape today, Director General of Health Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah announced that the committee will hold its first meeting tomorrow.

He said the main agenda of the task force is to review the content of the flavoured vape liquid according to the Poisons Act 1952 to determine whether it contains materials that can affect the health of the users.

According to Noor Hisham, the Ministry of Health is responsible for protecting public health before approving vape products which he claimed to have been frown upon by many parties, especially the parents.

The Ministry will also examine the content of the liquid nicotine concocted by vape sellers, and should a forbidden substance be found, the next control measures will be formulated.

"The issue is not about vape; our issue is the substance used. The issue now is about health and also the long-term effect of using the substance," he said after attending a mega gotong-royong event at Kampung Sungai Ara, here, today.

In addition, the ministry will also examine the proposals put forward by the vape association and give appropriate feedback while trying to find a common ground to resolve the issue.

The Health Ministry today announced it has formed a special committee to answer all issues related to e-cigarettes or better known as vape.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said that the committee would be headed by Dr Noor Hisham.

According to Subramaniam, any statement will only be issued by the committee to ensure that all efforts in regulating vape is thoroughly implemented.