By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
- Legal conflict: Liquid and gel nicotine are again subject to Malaysia’s poison controls, while a separate 2024 law continues to regulate vaping products.
- Tax fight: Two MPs want nicotine vape sales and excise collection halted, with more than RM354 million in previously collected duties refunded.
- Industry pushback: Vape businesses and consumer groups want the government to preserve the regulated market under Act 852 while it resolves the legal conflict.
Malaysia’s vaping problem has shifted from a regulatory gap to a legal collision.
Malaysia’s nicotine vape market is facing growing uncertainty after the government abandoned its appeal of a High Court ruling that invalidated the 2023 exemption of liquid and gel nicotine from the country’s Poisons List.
The Aug. 18 withdrawal leaves the High Court judgment intact, bringing nicotine vapes back under the scheduled-poison framework of the Poisons Act 1952. At the same time, the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852) continues to regulate vaping products.
The government has yet to explain how the two regimes are now supposed to work together.
Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung and Kuala Langat MP Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi on Sept. 2 called for a stop to ordinary nicotine vape sales and urged the Finance Ministry to suspend collection of the RM0.40-per-milliliter excise duty.
Lee also wants more than RM354 million ($88.5 million)in duties collected since 2023 refunded.
“The government cannot now ignore its own sworn position,” Lee said, according to media reports. “A tax is a declaration of legitimacy — the State cannot simultaneously tell the courts a product is an illegal poison and tell the market it is a taxable good.”
Ahmad Yunus made a similar argument.
“If vape nicotine is now confirmed to be a controlled poison and unlawful to be sold freely, then it cannot and should not be taxed,” he said.
The RM354 million reflects a demand from lawmakers, not an established government liability. Malaysia has not said the excise duties were unlawfully collected or that refunds are owed.
The legal dispute dates to 2023, when then-Health Minister Zaliha Mustafa exempted liquid and gel nicotine used in vaping products from the Poisons List, thereby clearing the way for consumer sales and taxation.
In May, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that the exemption was irrational and unlawful, including because of inadequate consultation with the Poisons Board. The government initially appealed before withdrawing the challenge last month.
With the exemption nullified, nicotine vaping again falls within Malaysia’s Group C poison framework, which generally restricts supply to specified medical and pharmacy channels.
But Act 852 remains in force, regulating vaping products through requirements covering registration, packaging, labeling, advertising, sales and age restrictions.
The Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce and the Malaysian Vapers Alliance are urging the government to maintain the regulated market under Act 852 rather than leave businesses and adult consumers in legal limbo.
The Health Ministry has yet to provide a final answer. Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has acknowledged that the issue has both legal and policy implications, while the government is separately considering a phased nationwide vape ban.
