Malaysian e-cigarette industry requests suspension of new regulations

According to Malaymail's report on September 23, local e-cigarette industry practitioners in Malaysia are calling on the government to temporarily suspend and reevaluate a series of new regulations under the Public Health (Control of Tobacco Products) Amendment Act 2024, stating that these regulations could potentially cripple the industry.

This legislation was announced on February 2nd of this year, with plans for it to take effect next month (October).

Datuk Adzwan Manas, chairman of the Malaysia Retail E-Cigarette Association (MRECA), stated that the Ministry of Health implemented new regulations at the last minute, following only one briefing session, leaving industry professionals with insufficient time to prepare for the transition.

Azwan mentioned that the new regulations include banning the display of e-cigarette products at store counters, reducing the maximum capacity of disposable e-cigarette liquid to 3 milliliters, and decreasing bottled e-cigarette liquid to 15 milliliters. However, the current market generally offers e-cigarette liquid capacities between 30 milliliters to 60 milliliters. He believes that the reduction should be gradual every two years rather than a significant decrease to 15 milliliters for disposables.

The Ministry of Health did not give all suppliers, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs enough time to complete their products. What are the manufacturers who are still producing products that may take another one or two months to complete, or those who have already ordered raw materials, supposed to do?

In addition, Azwan pointed out that the Ministry of Health has also requested for the gradual phase-out of existing stock within six months, but the industry needs at least a year to complete this process. The registration fee for each e-cigarette product is 5000 ringgit (approximately 1200 US dollars), which is significantly high as they have already paid a lot for Sirim certification and other regulatory requirements.

At a press conference following the submission of a memorandum to the Prime Minister's office, Azwan stated that a recent survey showed that most e-cigarette companies are willing to pay a registration fee of 500 to 900 Malaysian ringgit (120 to 215 USD) per product.

The memorandum was signed by five associations, namely MRECA, the Malaysian E-Cigarette and Tobacco Alternatives Association (MEVTA), the Malaysian E-Cigarette Industry Advocacy Group, the Malaysian E-Cigarette Traders Association and the Malaysian E-Cigarette Chamber of Commerce, collectively representing over 2000 e-cigarette traders.

Azwan stated that, given that the e-cigarette industry is also an important source of revenue for the country, these groups are still pushing for negotiations with the Ministry of Finance led by the Prime Minister. The e-cigarette industry also supports displaying products behind the counter, rather than the government's proposed total display ban, which would affect their business.

We have always supported regulation of the e-cigarette industry, but we hope it can be implemented gradually. Do not push us to the brink of collapse with stringent regulations at the last minute.