KUALA LUMPUR: Smokers opting to quit should seek treatment at ‘stop smoking clinics’ instead of opting for non-evidence based practices such as vaping.
University Malaya Centre for Addiction Sciences' addiction medicine specialist Associate Professor Dr Amer Siddiq Amer Nordin said the electrical devices had never been endorsed as a stop smoking aid.
"The claims made by vapers are anecdotal. It has never been endorsed as a stop smoking aid and this needs to be clarified.
"Only two big research papers have been found which state that vapes help to reduce cigarette intake but no research shows that it can help to stop smoking," he said.
Dr Amer said there are 486 stop smoking clinics under the ministry of health nationwide and many other private service providers that give up to a 65 per cent success rate in kicking the habit.
"These clinics are manned by health care providers such as family specialists, lung specialists, cardiologists, pharmacists, dentists, doctor and even medical assistants.
“Every clinic will have a different success rate. For example Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (HUKM) success rate is between 55 to 65 per cent, while a public clinic’s success rate will be between 15 to 25 per cent.
“The differing percentage might be due to the fact that smokers who go to HUKM and University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) are being referred directly to the specialist and the access to various treatments might also differ,” he said.
The ministry, he added, was looking at the matter seriously and training and retraining the health care providers supervising the clinics.
The cost for patients who join the stop smoking programme which is organised over a period of between 3 to 6 months, is far more inexpensive compared to the total cost they spend for cigarettes.
"If you go to the public clinics you will only have to pay RM1 per session. While the cost for UMMC might be between RM900 to RM1000 per programme (3 to 6 months).
"This is far more cheaper compared to the amount you will have to pay for a pack of cigarettes daily and also the long term commitment that you will have to pay if you continue smoking," he said.
Dr Amer said the use of nicotine in liquid form should only be allowed with the caveat that it be used as medicine, which meant it should go through all the necessary regulations.
"There is some evidence that it might be useful. However it must go through all the necessary regulations to become a treatment. It can deliver nicotine in a method that can be useful, such as in nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).
However, Dr Amer said it should not be available to the public in the way vapes are sold freely, as people could buy them ‘all over the place’, while at the same time the sellers were even ‘making their own flavours’.
“As a doctor I cannot guarantee what is inside the liquid, and would not allow or encourage you to use it. I cannot guarantee that the device will not explode while you are using it," he said.
Taking the example of the practice in the United Kingdom, Dr Amer said the liquids would be made in a negative pressure room and go through safety checks.
When it is dispensed, it will be monitored and recorded, he added.
Dr Amer said 50 to 70 percent of vapers chose to be dual users (smoke cigarettes and vape) in order to reduce their nicotine intake.
However, these smokers would still be at the risk of getting smoking related diseases.
"It will not make any difference because there is no safe level for tobacco (usage) and even if you take one cigarette or smoke on and off, you will still be at risk of getting diseases related to smoking," he said.
Dr Amer said the behaviour of people who claimed that the e-cigarettes could help them quit smoking did not portray their seriousness in leaving behind the habit.
"My experience with those who want to quit smoking is they would only use the vape temporarily, then they would stop (from vaping). They would never show off with the device because their sole intention is to quit smoking.
"What are you trying to prove, a whole bunch of you making a press statement while blowing vapour?," said Dr Amer, referring to the recent press conference made by the Malaysia E-Vaporizers and Tobacco Alternative Association (Mevta). Dr Amer was also irked at some of the vapers who taunted the authorities, saying that the increase in price or the act of banning the vape would lead them to continue smoking.
"This makes me ponder about their real intention.
"Those who try hard to quit smoking would usually refuse to go back to their old habit.
Increasing the price and banning the vape would only support their mission," he said, adding that research also showed that using e-cigarettes would lengthen the process of quitting smoking.