Grim preliminary analysis of e-cigarettes

A senior medical consultant in Malaysia has said that the major concern over electronic cigarettes is that many people misuse the device by adding drugs such as marijuana and heroin, according to a story in The New Strait Times.

A study on electronic cigarette addiction conducted by the Institute of Respiratory Medicine (IPR) since 2013 is expected to be completed early next year.

IPR’s senior medical consultant, Professor Datuk Dr Abdul Razak Abdul Muttalif, described the issues surrounding electronic cigarettes as controversial: there were pros and cons.

He said the IPR had gone through a number of papers on electronic cigarettes published by different bodies around the world.

Some of them agreed that electronic cigarettes should be banned while others concluded that they should be controlled.

Abdul Razak said electronic cigarette vapers were likely to experience an acute or short term effect such as coughing and tiredness.

“The chronic or long term effect of it is cancer, heart disease and many other chronic diseases,” he said.

“The major concern now is that many people misuse the device by adding drugs such as marijuana and heroin, which will do more harm to the body, and this will be very difficult for the authorised bodies to control.”