Take immediate action to ban vaping as there are concerns it is linked to synthetic drug abuse, social activist tells Ministry of Health

KUCHING, June 12 2026: Social activist Voon Shiak Ni has urged the Ministry of Health (MoH) to take immediate action to ban vaping as there are rising concerns over youth vaping.

 Caption: Social activist Voon Shiak Ni says young people may be exposed to addictive drugs without fully understanding the risks. 

She said there are concerns that vaping is linked to synthetic drug abuse, such as  drug “ piu - piu” which is a mixture of vape liquids.

“It is sold in cheap disposable pods which are easy to store and heavily marketed to youths on social media,” Voon, who is also a human rights lawyer, said in a statement.

“ As the drugs is easily accessible , the call to ban vaping must be acted upon immediately as it is becoming a serious threat to public safety and must be treated with the highest level of concern,” she stressed.

She added drug-laced vape products create an additional danger because users may not know what substances they are inhaling.

As such, she said young people may be exposed to addictive drugs without fully understanding the risks.

Voon said vape should never become a new channel for drug distribution, especially among young people.

“It is common public knowledge that drug abuse has been repeatedly linked to serious social problems, including impaired driving, fatal road accidents, violence and other criminal activities.

“ A person under the influence of drugs may experience poor judgment, reduced concentration, aggression and slower reaction time, putting innocent lives at risk,” she said.

She suspected that fatal road accidents could be one of the reasons  linked to drug-impaired driving .

“There have been cases reported by enforcement authorities where drivers involved in fatal road accidents were found to have tested positive for substances such as methamphetamine (syabu), cannabis and other drugs.

“Such cases highlight the danger of individuals operating vehicles while their ability to react and make safe decisions is affected,” she said.

Citing an example, she said a fatal accident linked to drug abuse occurred in Klang that took the life of a young father, a delivery rider in Klang in March this year.

Voon also cited another example where a fatal road accident in Kampar took the life of a 10-yeat old boy and injured three other persons last month.

She added the driver was said to be under the influence of drugs.

Voon also said many cases of robberies, burglaries and other violent crimes could be linked to drud addicts.