Kuala Lumpur, 9 October 2025 — The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) warns that the Health Ministry’s proposal to raise excise duty on vape liquids from RM0.40 to RM4.00 per millilitre, representing a 1000 percent increase, risks driving consumers toward illicit products, undermining harm-reduction goals, and reversing Malaysia’s progress in evidence-based public health policy.
CCC Malaysia Country Associate, Tarmizi Anuwar, said that the drastic increase would create unintended harm without addressing the root causes of youth vaping or nicotine dependency. “Taxation should guide behaviour, not punish it. A 1000 percent jump will not make Malaysia healthier. It will simply make safer products unaffordable and push consumers into unregulated markets,” he said.
Malaysia already records one of the highest illicit cigarette rates in the world. As of May 2025, the national illicit trade rate stood at 54.5 percent, according to Nielsen Consumer LLC. Although enforcement has improved and illicit trade has declined from previous years, this progress remains fragile. A sudden and extreme tax hike risks reversing these gains by reopening incentives for smuggling and unregulated sales.
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