Stop all chances of social ills afflicting rakyat

WITH reference to the report “More data needed before a decision on banning vaping” (The Star, Oct 31; online at bit.ly/star_vape) that attributed the statement to the Deputy Health Minister: Public health policies should be based on the precautionary principle in the absence of any substantive benefit from allowing vaping in this country.

As per independent studies and World Health Organisation (WHO) FCTC Article 5.3, tobacco and related industries are not public health stakeholders and, as such, any engagement should be limited and fully transparent to prevent undue influence and bias in decisionmaking. It should also be noted from US Congress investigations that bots and cybertroopers have been used by industry-backed groups to influence public perception and opinion. These moves are very apparent in public health policy adoption in relation to tobacco tax, the licensing of tobacco products and vaping products against WHO and World Bank recommendations that has been implemented effectively elsewhere.

With regards to vaping, the “95% safer than tobacco smoke” narrative should be evaluated in a local context against very different demographics and enforcement regimes in Britain and the United States. It should be noted that the smoking prevalence (age groups) in both countries are much lower than in Malaysia; also, enforcement and compliance with safety standards are higher due to higher income and educational levels; and public participation in policymaking is relatively active against industry-backed lobbying designed to influence public perception and mislead public policies. We should take note that Britain has imposed a 100% smoking ban even in bars; compare that with our much-delayed smoking ban in eateries.

In the United States, vaping has become a highly risky teenage fad. This has also been noted in our schools through the findings of the National E-cigarette Survey 2016. In Malaysia, as many as 74% of smokers are dual users (cigarette and vaping) and the safer use argument seems a commercial sales pitch.

Back to basics. Nicotine is the primary agent in both regular cigarettes and e-cigarettes, and it is highly addictive. It causes you to crave it and suffer withdrawal symptoms if you ignore the craving. Nicotine is also a toxic substance. Nicotine reaches the brain within seconds from the lungs when inhaled as smoke or vape. It raises your blood pressure and spikes your adrenaline, which increases your heart rate and the likelihood of having a heart attack.

Vaping as a means of smoking cessation is only effective if the individual enrols in and follows through with a systematic smoking cessation service, which emphasises avoiding any situation which may expose the person to having a puff.

Smoking cessation programmes also treat the addiction of “holding the cigarette” between the fingers with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) whereas vaping does not. NRT has been clinically tested and proven as well as registered with health authorities for safe use. Products used in vaping are still not regulated.

As such, any arguments for continuing the supply of vaping products are merely profit-motivated, and made by businesses targeting children and youth.

We as a nation should stop all chances of social ills afflicting our rakyat. All efforts and resources should be focused on creating an environment that promotes productivity, knowledge and a healthy community lifestyle.

MUHAMMAD SHA’ANI ABDULLAH Coordinator, Tobacco Control, @SmokeFreeMY Initiative Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca)