SE Asia's youth choose vapes over cigarettes

Young people in South-east Asia are moving away from smoking cigarettes and into vaping and heated tobacco products (HTP) instead, a survey has found.

Across Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, cigarette-smoking by those under 35 is on the downtrend, but that group is increasingly using alternative nicotine products when compared to older smokers, according to the survey by consumer research and data analytics firm Milieu Insight.

"The study shows some key factors influencing this trend. One key factor is the variety of flavour, with fruit and menthol flavour dominating consumer choice in alternative nicotine products," said Milieu Insight chief executive officer Gerald Ang at a press briefing on April 7.

"E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products being 'cheaper' is also an important reason for using alternative nicotine products."

The report by Milieu Insight released on April 7 was titled Cigarettes and Alternative Nicotine Delivery Products: Product Usage and Consumption Behaviour Study in South-east Asia.

It surveyed over 18,000 legal age adults, studying their consumption trends, flavour preferences, purchase channels, reasons for use and future adoption.

HTP are battery-powered devices that heat tobacco leaves, thus releasing nicotine emissions, with the aerosol produced inhaled by the users.

Even though Singapore has banned the use of alternative nicotine products, it is still prevalent among people aged 21 to 29, the survey found, with 7.8 per cent in that age group preferring vape and HTP, while 5.7 per cent smokes cigarettes.

The study also found that in Singapore, 43 per cent bought these products from online shopping and messaging platforms, 29 per cent bought the alternative nicotine products from friends and family, and 19 per cent from social media platforms. Some users did not disclose their channels of purchase.

On messaging platforms, the most popular with Singaporeans purchasing such products are Telegram and WhatsApp.

Mr Ang said the study shows that e-cigarette and HTP use in the region is expected to grow, as a sizable portion of smokers indicate that they are likely to use alternative nicotine products in the next six months.

In Vietnam, which has also banned these alternative nicotine products, 9.2 per cent of people in the 25 to 34 age bracket are vaping.

And in Malaysia, 14.8 per cent of young people between 20 and 29 are using e-cigarettes and HTP.

Mr Malik Ismail, a 38-year-old bank employee, told The Straits Times he switched from smoking cigarettes to vaping about three years ago, after seeing some of his friends and colleagues doing the same.

He said it was a "healthier and cheaper" option.

His wife Alina Jamal approved of the change and remarked that her husband "no longer smells like a chimney" all the time.

"After changing to vape, I feel that I could breathe easier," Mr Malik said.

Student Sofia Nasir, 19, started vaping in 2024 out of curiosity, after seeing her father and older brother do it.

"I bought my first vape at 7-Eleven. I always thought it looked cool, and I like the fruity flavours of the vape. I don't like cigarettes or cigarette smokers though because they stink," she told ST.

Mr Chris Humphrey, executive director of the EU-Asean Business Council, who was at the briefing on April 7, said his concern lies with the illicit trade of tobacco and nicotine products.

"Malaysia's 55 per cent illicit cigarette market is a cautionary tale - when a government imposes a sudden, excessive tax increase, it sends a shock to consumers and pushes them to cheaper alternatives in the black market.

"An excise policy with predictable and moderate multi-year tax increase can mitigate illicit trade while achieving the government's public health and fiscal objectives," said Mr Humphrey, referring to the last tax hike in 2015, which saw a 43 per cent jump from RM280 to RM400 per 1,000 sticks.

The challenge in enforcement, said Mr Humphrey, lies with online platforms or instant messaging platforms that make illicit trade in alternative nicotine products harder to detect, especially in countries that banned them.

"E-commerce is a huge problem. We must put in place a memorandum of understanding between enforcement agencies, the online platforms and brand owners to take down the sellers," he said.

Meanwhile, while some vape and HTP users may feel their alternative nicotine products are healthier compared to regular cigarettes, Malaysian Council of Tobacco Control secretary-general Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah told ST that these products are equally harmful.

He said that according to the United States Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention in 2020, there had been 2,807 cases of lung injury with 68 deaths in the country due to the use of alternative nicotine products.

This was especially so for those who modified their devices or use black market modified liquids, particularly those that contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a chemical found in marijuana.

"Vape liquid contains around 2,000 chemicals. This includes nicotine, the flavour, the perfume. This means you are introducing chemicals into your lungs.

"We can't be talking about vape being less harmful. That's the industry narrative. You're not supposed to inhale any foreign material into your lungs," said Mr Sha'ani.