JOHOR BARU – The Johor government has said it would continue banning the sale of vape products, including equipment and liquids, as decided on January 1, 2016.
The ban remains despite the federal government deciding to impose excise taxes on nicotine liquids and gels used in e-cigarettes and vaping devices from last Saturday onwards, said Johor Housing and Local Government executive councillor Datuk Mohd Jafni Md.
He said the state government had sent out circulars to all local authorities on the ban since it was put in place.
“We understand that, at the central level, there is permission (through a tax on vape liquids), so we will wait for further instructions from the federal government.
“So far, we have not received any official instruction on the banning of vapes, but at the state level we still use the policy of the old decision (to ban) in 2016,” he told reporters during the Johor Media Club (JMC) Singgah Sahur 2023 programme earlier today.
Also present were executive councillors Ling Tian Soon (health and unity) and Norlizah Noh (education, information, and communication), as well as JMC president Mohamad Fauzi Ishak.
Jafni was asked to comment on the excise tax of 40 sen/mm on e-cigarette liquid or gel containing nicotine imposed by the federal government, as well as Putrajaya’s stance on the Johor ban.
Meanwhile, on the operations of Ramadan bazaars, Jafni said his committee had approved a total of 13,175 sites involving 235 locations under the administration of Johor local authorities this year.
So far, the Ramadan bazaars under the Pasir Gudang and Batu Pahat municipal councils (MPBP) have received lacklustre response, while Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) faces issues regarding non-citizens trading illegally.
“We did not issue licences to foreign traders, except if they work for locals and the licence is under their employer’s name. Only in MBJB do we have this issue and action to close them down has been taken,” he said.
Earlier, Fauzi said that JMC has distributed 400 food packs to police, Fire and Rescue Department, staff at Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA), SWM Environment cleaning employees, as well as JMC members under its programme, which is in its ninth edition.
He said the four locations JMC visited during the programme were Sifar Kilometer, HSA, the Tampoi marine police headquarters, and the Johor Fire and Rescue Department headquarters here. – Bernama, April 4, 2023
