KDN URGES NATIONAL POISON CENTRE TO STUDY EFFCTS OF IQOS

ALOR SETAR, Nov 23 (Bernama) — The Home Ministry (KDN) has recommended that the National Poison Centre conduct a study on the tobacco heating device or IQOS manufactured by a leading cigarette company.

Its Minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, said that although the effects of using the device on health are not yet known, an initial study can be conducted in preparation for the government to enact any related laws.

“Even before the vape issue has subsided, the world’s leading cigarette company has already created another (device). perhaps what the National Poison Centre can also start detecting, is IQOS.

“This device does not ‘burn’, it ‘heats’. The tagline is if you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you smoke, try to quit. If you can’t, switch to our product. That’s their campaign. Whether it has any health effects or not, we don't know yet," he said.

He said this when speaking at the Seminar on Dealing with Drug Symptoms and Appreciation of the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) 2025 Recovery which was officiated by the Raja Muda of Kedah Tengku Sarafudin Badlishah Sultan Sallehuddin, here today.

According to Saifuddin Nasution, unlike regular cigarettes, the device functions to heat tobacco and it is seen as an innovation that poses a challenge to the country.

"That is why I can understand the challenges that await us, but it is the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health to manage many other related matters," he said.

He said the government is aware that the provisions of laws and regulations relating to drug abuse and poisons cannot be static, but rather need to be dynamic so that they can be adapted to the discovery of new substances.

"We cannot 'catch up' (catch up) the discovery of new substances, new poisons. If we wait for them to be included in the list of new poisons, then we will start working, nothing will happen. So we can suggest that the amendment (of the law) is generic (general).

“But it is still able to cover the actual requirements of the law. If we wait for everything to be ‘perfect’, of course there will be room for it to slip through,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said the government had approved no less than RM500 million for AADK to carry out its essential task in curbing drug abuse.

However, he stressed that the responsibility should not be borne by one party alone, but rather requires the support of other parties including the private sector who can play their respective roles.

— BERNAMA