Umno Youth exco member Armand Azha Abu Hanifah is convinced that the government is acting in the interest of public health when it said it will clamp down on e-cigarettes, or vapourisers.

This comes after the government said it will seize vape juice containing nicotine , and impose a fine of RM500 per bottle.

"Are there hidden hands behind this? Who is behind this cabinet decision and who instructed this?

"Why is the Health Ministry waging all-out war against the vape industry? Is big tobacco behind this?" he asked in a statement.

He said the Health Ministry would better serve the public by issuing guidelines on vaping, and not suddenly conducting raids.

The former Perkasa Youth chief also urged them to conduct research on the matter to present to the cabinet instead of taking knee-jerk measures.

Armand's successor in Perkasa agrees.

Perkasa Youth chief Irwan Fahmi Ideris said the vape issue was first raised in 2013, but there has never been any action under the Poisons Act 1952.

"So why now? How many years have these e-cigarettes with nicotine been in the market?

"What do they actually want? The government is only clamping down on it when the industry is thriving," he said in a separate statement.

The Malaysian vape industry is worth about half-a-billion ringgit and is reportedly the second largest market after the United States.

More harmful

He added that those selling conventional cigarettes are not licensed, so vape sellers should not be discriminated.

He said nicotine content in vape liquids is limited according to industry's self-regulated standards.

Vape mods in the market today are also fifth generation e-cigarettes, he said, which differ completely to the 2009 version which the ministry may be looking at, he said.

"I believe conventional cigarettes are even more harmful to society compared to e-cigarettes. If the Health Ministry argues otherwise, it should explain how," he said.

Health deputy director-general Dr Loman Hakim Sulaiman said he supports a ban on both cigarettes and vapourisers.

He said the body should only inhale oxygen, and nothing else.

The sale of liquid nicotine is controlled under the the Poisons Act and can only be prescribed by a licensed pharmacist, he said.

However, there is still dispute over whether this includes flavoured liquid- containing nicotine.

The UK Health Department research found that e-cigarettes are 95 percent less harmful than conventional cigarettes.

Vape industry players said they support taxation on the industry, instead of an outright ban.