AS things are on hyper mode in Kuala Lumpur for the 27th Asean Summit, Putrajaya is experiencing another sort of happening.
The federal administrative capital has been a popular destination lately among the supporters of vape, with nearly 20,000 who planned to converge here last month had the cabinet decided to ban vaping.
When it was not banned on Oct 30, there was no reason for the “pro-vapers” to gather here. But, that was not the case. Some, including a group of e-cigarette and vape traders, still made their way to Putrajaya to submit a memorandum to the health minister. They also threatened legal action against those who made negative statements on vaping and e-cigarettes without proof. The group has engaged at least two lawyers to do just this.
The Health Ministry, in a briefing on Wednesday, stated that there was a difference between vaping and smoking e-cigarettes. One is considered vaping if the e-juice used does not contain nicotine, and if it does, then it is a matter of smoking e-cigarettes.
Personally, I cannot differentiate between vaping and smoking e-cigarettes because both involve smoke being exhaled by smokers. Since I am a non-smoker, my empathy for those who smoke is low as I cannot understand why anyone would want to inhale smoke. The smoking realm remains a great mystery for me. When I saw a smoke-filled vehicle with the occupants vaping away without winding down their windows here in Putrajaya recently, the first thought that came to my mind was, how could they breathe in there?
As a mother, I am worried for my son as he is exposed to the thick smoke when we walk in public areas. And I am seeing more and more vapers everywhere. They proudly display their vape kit on the tables at restaurants and, for those familiar with vaping, the price of the kits can reach up to thousands of ringgit.
During the ministry’s briefing, we were told of cases involving children who accidentally drank the e-juice containing nicotine. This is one of the reasons why the ministry is concerned about the trend and has raised the need to child proof the e-juice bottle. I am mortified at the thought of a child accidentally drinking the e-juice.
In the United States alone there were 3,000 such cases last year. Health experts claim a child could have a seizure, or in a worst case scenario, die, after consuming nicotine e-juice.
Putrajaya is caught in a catch-22 situation as the “pro-vapers” claim vaping or smoking e-cigarettes could help kick the habit of cigarette smoking, while the business of selling e-juice and vape kits is lucrative. But those on the other end of the spectrum are worried that the vaping trend would grab hold of many young Malaysians with possible side effects to their health, and that would mean higher healthcare cost for the country in the future. So far, 25 nations have banned vaping and e-cigarettes.
As an advocator of health, it is understandable why the ministry is against vaping and e-cigarette smoking or even cigarette smoking in general.
Vaping is a new trend, but it has become a craze among youth and teenagers who have shared pictures of them vaping on Instagram and Facebook. This has raised red flags among those in the education system with the Education Ministry saying it would consider expulsion of students caught vaping and the Higher Education Ministry is even mulling to ban vaping on campuses.
Vaping will be one of many issues that Putrajaya has to address and it will need input from the relevantministries. As a non-smoker, I only hope those who are vaping and smoking e-cigarettes will be aware of those around them especially young children. They will see and emulate what we do. Our actions speak louder than words.
The writer is NST’s Putrajaya bureau chief