Vaping shadows tobacco control: imperatives for Malaysia

<p>Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been the subject of numerous debates in the literature. (Bullen et al., 2013; Cressey, 2014; The Lancet, 2013) So much discussion has been on it this year alone to the extent that the word vape, which means ‘to inhale and exhale the vapour produced by an e-cigarette or similar device’, has become the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the year. E-cigarettes have gained popularity amongst the youth who are smokers and want to quit as well as among children and adult non-smokers who fancy it. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013; Dawkins, Turner, Roberts & Soar, 2013; Emery, Vera, Huang & Szczypka, 2014; News & Angeles, n.d.; Serrie, 2014; US Drug and Food Administration, 2014) Even in rural communities in middle- and low-income countries, their availability in shopping centres and through multilevel marketing schemes is common (I.N.S., unpublished observation/data).</p>