Ministry Waiting For Scientific Evidence Before Banning Sisha, E-Cigarate

SEREMBAN (Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia), July 8 (Bernama) -- The health ministry is waiting for more scientific evidence before making a decision to ban or regulate sisha and e-cigarette. Minister Dr S. Subramaniam said a technical committee chaired by Institute of Respiratory Medicine director Dr Abdul Razak Muttalif would study the health effects caused by the two products before deciding on the next course of action. "As far as sisha is concerned, evidence has shown that it is harmful, probably more harmful than cigarette smoking. "So, our initial move is to classify sisha as tobacco-based product. All laws and regulations pertaining to tobacco use will probably apply to it (sisha)," he told the media after attending a convocation ceremony at the Tafe College here Sunday. Dr Subramaniam said, as for the e-cigarette, there was a group which felt that smoking the product was less harmful than cigarette, and it could be used as the intermediate tool in reducing cigarette smoking. But there were also others who claimed that e-cigarette might be abused and should be banned or regulated, he added. "So, we will make a decision based on the evidence collected by this technical committee on wheter to regulate them (sisha and e-cigarette) or totally ban them." -- BERNAMA