Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya holds an electronic cigarette as he speaks to reporters in George Town, October 30, 2015. — Bernama pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7— The Deputy Health Minister today admitted that the ministry’s recent raids on vape stores were pretty “drastic”.

Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said sellers will be given a chance to acquire licenses to legalise their business.

“It is quite drastic, we will look back to our action. We will give them chance to get license,” he said at a press conference after launching a blood donation event.

On how vape sellers could acquire the licenses and what the ministry’s next steps would be, Dr Hilmi said the Director-General will make an announcement soon.

“Too early to tell... wait for the DG’s (director-general) statement,” he said, adding it would probably come out either today, or tomorrow.

Dr Hilmi advised vape sellers to temporarily halt operations before the DG’s announcement.

The Health Ministry said on Tuesday it will confiscate nicotine content found in e-cigarettes from all traders nationwide, in a move to discourage Malaysians from vaping.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam said that the ministry is empowered to do so under the 1952 Poisons Act and 1983 Food Act, pointing out that vape shops are currently not licensed to sell any products which contain nicotine.

Concerns over vaping exist largely due to their initial positioning as electronic replacements for cigarettes, prompting fears that the former may be as harmful as conventional tobacco use.

While the health risks of smoking are well established, the dangers involved in using e-cigarettes have not been conclusively determined.

The more apparent risk comes from users jury-rigging their own vaporisers using diverse components and without proper research, as seen from incidents involving exploding e-cigarettes.