Vape dealers may go underground
Published on: Saturday, January 30, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Operators of outlets selling vaping apparatus may go underground just like contraband cigarettes and liquor if the authorities decide to ban the business in Sabah.This was what the Daily Express gathered from speaking to both "vapists" and businesses in a random survey. Currently, there are more than 20 outlets selling vaping items and chemicals in shopping complexes and shops here and is growing.ADVERTISEMENT However, the Sabah religious authorities recently forbid Muslims in the state from engaging in the activity through a Fatwa (Islamic decree) while the State Cabinet is also said to be contemplating banning it, if necessary, after a study."Similar Fatwas were issued in the past on tobacco smoking, but no shops or stalls were banned from selling cigarettes," said Ahmad Kassim (not his real name). "We might be forced to operate as a mobile set-up like the Filipino smuggled cigarette peddlers around towns."Currently some businesses operate on-the-go offering mobile services like massage and car wash, calling at the destination stipulated by the client via smartphone and vape stuff suppliers may likely join such modus operandi if banned, he said.A non-Muslim who has switched to vaping said police may have to check for vaping apparatus in the event of a ban and this would not be easy.ADVERTISEMENT Among the concerns against vaping is that it could also be used to consume drugs, besides chemicals because what went into producing the vaping substances are questionable. With the rising prices of cigarettes costing now more than RM10 per box of 20s, e-cigarette smoking is becoming more economical with cheaper pricing in the long run, but only in the few states that have not banned vaping – Penang, Sarawak, Negri Sembilan and Melaka. The fatwa by the National Islamic Council is applicable to Labuan F. T.
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With RM100, one can buy vaping apparatus with inbuilt battery, and the juices start from RM10 upwards per tiny bottle to fill up.Cheaper if local – meaning fruity favour when compared to imports from the United States – meaning creamier flavour from RM45 upwards in pricing range.Malaysia is reputed to be the second largest market for the vaping habit after the United States. However, before any ban was mulled, members of the Sabah Pharmaceutical Society already declined to sell vaping chemicals as a quit smoking aid."We only recommend smoking cessation products like nicotine patch, gum to help smokers quit the habit. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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We do not advise smokers to migrate from cigarette to vaping which is another form of smoking with unhealthy implications," said T. H. Yee, a community pharmacist.So far, only Penang had indicated that there would be no ban on vaping stuff sale. Several states have already banned it, starting with Johor via a royal decree, followed by several others.