A vape group is upset by the treatment vaping industry players have received as of late.

Malaysian E-Vaporizers and Tobacco Alternative Association (Mevta) vice-president Ikhbal Zakaria said despite Deputy Health Minister Hilmi Yahaya stating that the ministry will not ban vape for the time being, local councils have been instructed to stop issuing licenses to vape shops.

In making the claim, Ikhbal cited a letter by Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah which was signed on Dec 21.

“We have never gone head to head with the government. We always open our doors for discussion.

“So please, from now on, give us a chance to talk,” Ikhbal said in a press conference at a vape shop in Shah Alam today.

Ikhbal ( photo ) pointed out how even though the vaping industry had generated a lot of income, they were still oppressed.

“The government does not oppress us openly but there are obviously hidden hands. We want to know who those hidden hands are.

“So we ask that the Health Ministry as well as other agencies to please follow what the cabinet says," he said.

The cabinet in its decision had decided not to ban but instead regulate the sale of vape.

Meanwhile, Ikhbal stressed that like all law-abiding businesses, vape shops require licenses to operate.

“But when we want to apply for licenses, they don’t give us and then they conduct raids.

“It’s not like we are selling something illegal,” he said.

Be reasonable and fair

And should the Health Ministry come out with guidelines with regard to vaping, Ikhbal promised that they would comply with the guidelines.

“They have yet to come out with guidelines and we have been hammered.

“So we appeal to the government, be reasonable, be fair to us,” he said.

Meanwhile, commenting on the National Fatwa Council which has ruled that e-cigarrettes are forbidden , Ikhbal pointed out how there were no real experts when it comes to vape.

“If the Fatwa Council said it referred to advise from the Health Ministry, I want to ask where did the Health Ministry get the information that vaping will lead to cancer.

“Consuming alcohol and smoking are forbidden, but they don’t attack them as bad as how we have been attacked," he added.

Ikhbal however claimed that they were not against fatwa (edicts) issued by the council.

“As Muslims, it is compulsory for us to follow (the edicts). But not this way,” he said.

National Fatwa Council chairperson Abdul Shukor Husin last Monday said the decision to rule that vaping was forbidden was made after taking into consideration all aspects, including from the syariah (Islamic law), medical and scientific viewpoints which found electronic cigarettes to be wasteful and harmful to health.