By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 7: The Sarawak government is aiming to ban the use of electronic cigarettes or vapes in the State after carrying out a Statewide comprehensive advocacy and public awareness campaign on the dangers of vaping.
Minister for Women, Childhood, and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the Sarawak government has, in principle, agreed with the proposed ban, but its implementation should be preceded by efforts to raise public awareness of the risks associated with vaping.
However, she said all segments of society, including school pupils, students at institutions of higher learning (IPTs), and local communities, must first be educated on the issue before the proposal is brought back to the Sarawak Cabinet for further consideration.
“Vaping has become a gateway to the use of prohibited substances. Therefore, we view this as an issue that must be addressed seriously.
“As I mentioned previously, the issue of vaping was tabled at the State Cabinet meeting on Sept 18, 2025.
“In principle, the Sarawak government agrees that vaping should be banned. However, before that, we need to implement programmes and activities to raise public awareness of the dangers of vaping,” she said at a press conference after chairing the first Sarawak Social Development Council meeting for 2026 at Wisma Wanita here today in a TVS report.
Fatimah said vaping is no longer merely a public health issue but has become an increasingly worrying social challenge, citing evidence and reports linking it to drug abuse and the use of dangerous synthetic substances.
She said the problem not only affects users’ health but also has implications for behaviour, the future of younger generations and public safety.
Accordingly, she said the Sarawak government has intensified advocacy programmes throughout the State in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK), the Malaysian Drug Prevention Association (Pemadam), and local authorities.
She said awareness programmes on the dangers of vaping have so far been conducted in all 1,460 schools across Sarawak, comprising 194 secondary schools and 1,266 primary schools. The campaign has also been expanded to several higher education institutions, including Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
She added that the campaign will continue until November to reach every district and higher education institution in the State to ensure the message about the dangers of vaping reaches the wider community.
“The Sarawak government will evaluate the effectiveness of the advocacy programmes and enforcement measures before presenting the findings to the Sarawak Cabinet as part of the process towards implementing a ban on vape use in the State,” she said. — DayakDaily
