Vape sellers in Malaysia are now targeting young students with attractive ads and low-cost vape, raising major concerns about the accessibility with which young students can get a vape.
In a recent news report, twenty Standard 6 students were found using vape devices. When caught, the students said they were only "enjoying the new tech products and trying out the fruit flavours" of the vape liquids.
Even more alarming is the tagline "Sedut dulu, baru pergi ke sekolah" (snort first, before going to school), used by a vape supplier to promote their new vape-like product, which is plainly aimed for young people.
The Health Ministry recently reported 1.3 million primary and secondary school students and discovered that over 43,000 of them were vaping. Despite stricter regulations, vape advertisements targeting students have continued for years.
A vape company released an e-liquid with the flavour of kuih raya, a popular Malaysian festival treat. Another company posted a poster wishing everyone a happy Hari Raya while promoting their products.
Similarly, during the Chinese New Year celebrations, vape retailers launched Lunar Vape offers, advertising vapes as little as RM20 each set for students.
"Why would they promote vape products on the sampul raya when they know that the majority of Duit Raya receivers are children?" said worried parents. The advertisements clearly target young students.
Vape sellers are also actively promoting their products on TikTok, a network with 41% of Malaysian users aged 12 to 22. They provide Hari Raya promotion and brightly coloured limited edition vaping products. Some sellers even show how many vape items you can get for less than RM5.
Every year, Malaysia hosts MIVAS, a massive vape event that will promote students to see vaping as "cool and normal". This normalisation of vaping through high-profile events adds to the rising problem among teenagers.
The alarming trend of students obtaining vapes necessitates immediate action. Malaysia must implement tighter rules to address this issue. First, the legal age for purchasing vape products should be raised to 21. This is in line with global norms and helps keep these products away from students.
Additionally, vaping should be absolutely prohibited near school areas. This would provide a safer environment for students and minimise the temptation of trying vaping. To discourage students from purchasing vape devices, sellers who are caught selling them to people under the age of 21 should face serious legal penalties, including fines along with possible imprisonment.
Daphne Wong is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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