Bucking the trend of state governments declaring the sale or use (or both) of vaping products and peripherals to be illegal, Shah Alam today announced that Selangor will leave the matter well enough alone.
Although the Selangor state government will not likely issue any more business licences to vape-related storefronts, vaping – both selling products relating to it, and the use of its paraphernalia in public and private areas – remain legal.
A statement to the press issued today by Selangor Exco for Health, Welfare, and Women’s and Family Affairs, Dr Daroyah Alwi, said that a state-level workshop was held to discuss the vaping issue was organised recently.
According to Dr Daroyah, the workshop was also attended by representatives of the federal Ministry of Health, the Ministry for Youth and Sports, the Selangor Mufti Department, the Islamic Religious Department of Selangor (JAIS), the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais), and vaping traders and intgerest groups from across the state.
“The Selangor Consultative Council gave all due consideration with the aim of resolving the vaping issue responsibly,” she said, as quoted by mStar.
Still, the state government will defer to any federal policy on vaping gazetted by the Health Ministry, should it decide to do so.
“In this regard, the state government urges the Health Ministry to enact, research, and revise existing Acts and laws so that they may be enforced efficiently and uniformly,” Dr Daroyah said.
“The Acts relevant to the vaping issue are the Poisons Act 1952, the Sale of Drugs Act 1952, the Food Act 1983, and the Food Regulations 1985. All these laws are under the purview of the Health Ministry; they are out of the state government’s area of jurisdiction.”
The PKR-led Selangor state government has acted in accord with the Health Ministrhy directive issued on December 9, and has therefore agreed not to issue any more business licenses to vape traders.
