Govt to consider banning E-cigarettes - Dr Subramaniam

The government will consider banning the use of electronic cigarettes or vapor in the near future to prevent adverse health effects to consumers, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said the ministry was studying the legal aspects of enforcement to improve the existing Acts to enable the ban to be imposed.

"The use of vapor should be stopped before it becomes a bigger problem," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby, Wednesday.

Earlier, Federal Territories Mufti, Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri, had explained via Facebook that e-cigarettes are forbidden according to Islamic law because it is the substitute for cigarettes and detrimental to health.

It was also reported earlier, by several cancer experts that inhaling liquid nicotine used in e-cigarettes can cause cancer because nicotine vapor has the same properties of nitric acid.

Various parties have therefore urged the government to ban the use of vapor as it contains chemicals that can affect the health of consumers.