By INS Contributors

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: I know what it feels like to be chained to cigarettes. For years, I tried to quit. I tried the gums, the patches, even the sprays that pharmaceutical companies promised would help. None of them worked for me. Each attempt ended in frustration, withdrawal, and eventually lighting up again. Like millions of Malaysians, I felt trapped.

Then I found vaping. Within months, I managed to put down cigarettes for good. For the first time in decades, I could breathe easier, sleep better, and feel in control of my health. I am not alone. Thousands of Malaysians have had the same experience—breaking free from smoking thanks to vaping.

And yet today, the government is considering a nationwide ban on vapes. Let’s ask honestly: who benefits if that happens?

Follow the Money: Big Pharma, Not Big Tobacco

We’ve been told for years to watch out for Big Tobacco. And we should. But the real push behind the vape ban isn’t coming from tobacco companies—it’s coming from Big Pharma.

Why? Because every time someone switches to vaping, they stop buying pharmaceutical “quit smoking” products. Nicotine patches, gums, sprays—this billion-dollar industry has been cashing in for decades on smokers’ struggles. But when vaping arrived, it disrupted the game. Suddenly, people like me were able to quit cigarettes without Big Pharma’s products.

That’s why pharmaceutical companies are lobbying hard, not just here but globally, to kill vaping through prohibition. They talk about “public health,” but what they’re really protecting is market share. If we allow their influence to dictate Malaysian policy, we’re not protecting lives—we’re protecting corporate profits.

Prohibition Always Fails

Let’s look at history. Whenever governments try to ban something that people want, one outcome is certain: a black market will fill the gap.

We don’t have to imagine it. Malaysia already has one of the world’s largest black markets for cigarettes. Illegal smokes make up more than half of the market, costing the government billions in lost tax revenue every year. Criminal syndicates profit. Smuggling thrives. Corruption spreads.

Now imagine repeating this mistake with vaping. A ban won’t stop demand. Malaysians will still seek out vapes. But instead of getting them from licensed shops under regulation, they’ll buy untested, counterfeit products from smugglers. Quality control disappears. Health risks rise. Enforcement becomes a nightmare.

We’ve seen this play out abroad. In Singapore, despite its strict ban, vapes are easily available on the black market—just at higher prices and with zero oversight. In India, after a sweeping ban, smuggled and bootleg devices flooded the market, leaving consumers at greater risk. In Australia, prohibition has backfired so badly that police unions openly admit they cannot control the illicit trade.

Contrast this with the UK. There, the government doesn’t just regulate vaping—it actively promotes it as a harm reduction tool. Public Health England concluded that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking. British hospitals distribute e-cigarettes to patients trying to quit. As a result, smoking rates are falling faster in the UK than in most countries in the world. That is what evidence-based policy looks like.

Which path do we want Malaysia to take?

Regulation, Not Ban, Protects Malaysians

The truth is, Malaysia already has the legal framework to regulate vaping responsibly. Under the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024, nicotine liquids must be registered with the Drug Control Authority, and sales are restricted to those over 18.

Instead of scrapping this progress with a blunt ban, let’s build on it:

Enforce the law properly. Crack down on unlicensed sellers and illegal online sales.

Limit sales to licensed vape shops. Make sure products are sold by trained personnel, not by anyone with a smartphone and a WhatsApp account.

Raise quality standards. Ensure only registered, tested liquids are on the market.

Educate the public. Provide honest information about vaping’s risks and benefits compared to smoking.

This approach balances harm reduction with consumer safety. It acknowledges reality: people smoke, people vape, and Malaysians deserve safer alternatives—not a ban that will make the situation worse.

The Human Cost of a Ban

Behind the debates, reports, and corporate lobbying are real people. People like me who spent years chained to cigarettes. People who finally found an escape through vaping. A ban would rip that lifeline away.

It would also destroy an entire local industry worth over RM3 billion, employing thousands of Malaysians. Small businesses would collapse, jobs would vanish, and livelihoods would be sacrificed—not for public health, but for the profits of multinational pharmaceutical corporations.

And let’s not kid ourselves: vapes won’t disappear. They’ll just go underground, like illicit cigarettes already have. Except this time, we’d be dealing with liquids that could be contaminated, mislabeled, or dangerously tampered with. That is not harm reduction—it’s harm multiplication.

The Choice Before Malaysia

This is not just about vaping. It is about whether Malaysia writes policies for Malaysians—or lets foreign corporations write them for us.

Big Pharma had its chance. For decades, it sold smokers like me products that didn’t work. Gums, patches, sprays—expensive, ineffective, and designed to keep us as lifelong customers. Then vaping came along and actually helped people quit. That is the real threat to their business model.

Now, instead of competing fairly, they are trying to eliminate vaping altogether. If we let them succeed, we will pay the price—not them. Our health, our economy, and our freedom of choice will suffer.

A Call to Action

As Malaysians, we must demand smarter policies. We must reject prohibition and insist on regulation that protects consumers, supports harm reduction, and cuts out black-market profiteers.

We should look to evidence, not fear campaigns. We should follow the UK’s example, not Australia’s disaster. We should strengthen enforcement, not dismantle progress.

I quit smoking because of vaping. If vapes had been banned when I needed them, I might still be smoking today—or worse. Multiply that story by millions of Malaysians, and you begin to see the stakes.

This is our health, our choice, and our future. Don’t let Big Pharma steal it from us.