PETALING JAYA: Only locally manufactured vape liquids in sealed glass bottles should be allowed to be sold in the country, says the Malaysian Substance Abuse Council (Masac).
"Masac proposes that only flavoured vape liquids made in the country are allowed to be sold here using bottles with seals that cannot be opened to allow other substances from being added," said Masac secretary-general Raja Azizan Suhaimi in a statement on Sunday (May 7).
He said that vape liquids must be sold in glass bottles to prevent other substances from being injected into it.
He said that a joint study by Masac, Asian Centre for Research on Drug Abuse (Acreda) and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia found that there is a growing trend among teenage girls to use vape liquids laced with psilocybin.
Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound found in fungi such as "magic mushrooms" that is hallucinogenic in nature and can cause a person to faint.
He also said there was a possibility that the three 13-year-old girls who were allegedly gang raped by four teenagers in Kota Kinabalu on April 26 were given a vape liquid laced with psilocybin.
He said that so far, only 10 manufactures producing liquid nicotine are registered with the Customs Department since the registration deadline ended on April 30, although a large number of flavoured vape liquids sold in the country are currently imported.
Raja Azizan also suggested that the age limit for vaping should be raised from 18 to 21 to minimise the abuse of vape liquids which may contain drugs.
In October 2022, the previous government attempted to regulate the use of vapes among youth when tabling the Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill, dubbed the "generational end game" (GEG) Bill in the Dewan Rakyat.
Under the Bill, children born in 2007 and after will be prohibited from smoking, buying or possessing any type of smoking product, including electronic cigarettes or vape products, even after reaching the age of 18.
However, the Bill met with some resistance and was referred to a Special Parliamentary Select Committee (PSSC) for refinement.
When tabling the revised Budget 2023 on Feb 24, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said vape liquids containing nicotine are still illegally sold in the country with estimated sales of RM2bil.
In March this year, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said that the GEG Bill would be expedited and retabled.
