Malaysia: Survey Finds E-cigarette Not Easily Available, Expensive

Source from:  Borneo Post (my)  10/08/2014

There is a growing usage of electronic cigarette vapour (commonly known as personal vaporiser or PV)) which smokers turn to as an alternative after failing to kick their smoking habit.

Akin to tobacco cigarettes, the battery-powered vaporiser, though not easily purchased here, produces an aerosol that resembles smoke vaporising from a liquid solution known as e-liquid.

The e-liquid which is claimed to be less hazardous than ordinary cigarettes contains a mixture of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, food flavourings and nicotine.

Even so, to actually search for one wasn't as easy and as affordable as we had thought, unlike the ordinary cigarette.

A ground check by The Borneo Post at an online retailer found that it was in fact illegal to buy and sell such devices.

"Perhaps, the reason could be due to the tobacco company facing losses to these devices, or probably due to its expensive cost and maintenance.

"Smokers who turned to PV are usually those willing to spend more," the online retailer who only wanted to be identified as Louise Kho said in an interview yesterday.

Kho, who is also a vapour smoker for seven months now, shared that it depends very much on each individual's preferences and spending power as the cost of the electronic device ranges from RM100 to RM400 or even above.

"Speaking of the risk of vaping, it is arguable that the e-liquid contains chemicals like propylene glycol. I can only say that it is one of the excuses by fellow smokers who failed to quit the hazardous habit."

Kho also insisted that the upside of the electronic cigarette was that the content of the nicotine could be adjusted according to the smoker.

"Ranging from zero nicotine content which releases only a fruit flavoured water vapour to 36 mg (highest), vaping could be as addictive as the ordinary tobacco cigarette," he said.

Showing The Borneo Post the models of electronic cigarettes found in the market, Kho stressed that it is almost impossible to mistake e-cigarette for a flare gun (that reportedly killed a middle aged man in Bintulu).

"The question is that while e-cigarette is designed to contain e-liquid, the reportedly modified flare gun doesn't have any of these attributes."

Kho also refuted the claim that e-cigarette could explode as the device which is built with stainless steel is very firm.

He also said that there were rare cases of explosion involving the device happening before. Enditem