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Malaysian Organization of Vape Entity

For retailers

Responsible shops keep this community's side of the bargain.

We argue that vape should be regulated, not banned. That gets harder every time a shop sells to a minor or keeps a display in the window. Act 852 sets out what you must do.

As at 23 October 2026, the legal position on nicotine e-liquid is still unsettled after the High Court’s Poisons List ruling. Where the law stands, with every date and source.

Last reviewed 23 October 2026.

Who this is for

This is for anyone selling smoking products in Malaysia: specialist vape stores, convenience chains, petrol kiosks and general retail.

Act 852 registers products, not retailers. There is no federal Ministry of Health "vape retailer licence". Your right to trade comes from your local authority's business-premise licence, which is also the lever states use to stop vape sales locally.

The rules at a glance

A three-panel quick-reference guide to Act 852 for retailers, setting out what every shop must do, what every shop must not do, and the display-ban exception for specialist vape stores. The full rules follow in the text below.

The full rules follow below.

Every shop that sells

Do

  • Sell only products registered with the Ministry of Health. From 1 October 2024 a new product needs registration approval before it may be imported or manufactured. Section 54(1) of the Act gave anyone already importing, manufacturing or distributing six months to apply, until 1 April 2025, and the Ministry says enforcement of the Registration Regulations began on that date. From 1 October 2025 unregistered products may not be on the market. If the Director General rejects an application, section 54(2) requires the applicant to recall the product and stop its sale at its own expense.
  • Display prominent under-18 sales-prohibition signage at every point of sale.
  • Display the prescribed no-smoking sign if your premises fall inside a gazetted no-smoking category, and keep ashtrays off the premises.
  • Regulation 4 of the Control of Sale Regulations 2024 prohibits sale inside an educational or higher-educational institution area, within 40 metres of its outer boundary or fence, and, where the institution sits inside a commercial building, within 3 metres of its entrance. It also prohibits sale at any road, stall or market that is temporary in nature.
  • Since 1 October 2026, cartridge and pod volume has been capped at 2 ml under regulation 9(4) of the Packaging and Labelling Regulations 2024.

Don't

  • No online sales. No sale through vending machines.
  • No advertising, promotion or sponsorship of any kind, including gifts, prizes, giveaways and promotional displays.
  • No sales to anyone under 18.
  • No selling at night markets, stalls or roadsides.
  • No letting customers try a product in-store, because your premises are almost certainly a no-smoking place.

Specialist vape stores

Everything in the column for ‘Every Shop That Sells’ applies to specialist vape stores too. On top of that, the following also applies to specialist vape stores.

  • Under the Control of Sale Regulations, smoking products cannot be displayed at the point of sale. In force since 1 October 2024.
  • Specialised vape-only stores are the sole exception, on condition that products are not visible from outside.
  • The Ministry of Health requires enclosed cabinets. A cloth over an open display does not count and is treated as indirect promotion.

Enforcement of the display rule began on 1 April 2025, covering the more than 51,000 premises the Ministry of Health identified in March 2025. Warning letters were used until 1 October 2025, when full enforcement started.

Source: Ministry of Health, "FAQ Pelaksanaan Penguatkuasaan Akta 852", in Bahasa Malaysia. The 51,000 figure is the Ministry's own, reported by Malay Mail on 25 March 2025, and also by Malaysiakini and The Borneo Post at the time. The warning-letter phase is reported by Malay Mail, 8 April 2025. The proximity rule is regulation 4 of P.U.(A) 260/2024.

Signage you are required to display

The Declaration of Non-Smoking Area or Place Order 2024 gazettes 28 categories of place where smoking is prohibited. Air-conditioned shops, shopping complexes and workplace buildings are on that list, which covers most vape retail premises.

  • NO SMOKING SIGNAGE: If your premises are covered, you must display the prescribed no-smoking sign, which now carries an e-cigarette pictogram and a Ministry of Health QR code.

  • NO ASHTRAYS: There should be no ashtrays, and you must take reasonable steps to stop people smoking there, which rules out in-store trying.

  • UNDER-18 PROHIBITED SIGNAGE: The under-18 sales prohibition has to be prominent at every point of sale.

The official Ministry of Health infographic setting out all 28 categories is reproduced here.

Official Ministry of Health Malaysia infographic, in Bahasa Malaysia, titled '28 Kawasan atau Tempat Larangan Merokok' (28 areas or places where smoking is prohibited). It lists 28 icon-illustrated categories, including entertainment centres and theatres, air-conditioned shops, government premises, public assembly areas, stadiums and gyms, internet cafes, public parks, hospitals and clinics, launderettes, the Parliament building, public-service counters, sports complexes, service-training areas, school buses, lifts and public toilets, public-transport terminals, educational institutions, shopping complexes, buildings used for religious purposes, workplaces, rest and service areas, eateries, airports, childcare centres, petrol stations, libraries, public vehicles, and lookout towers, campsites and canopy walkways in national and state parks.
Official Ministry of Health infographic: the 28 categories of no-smoking places.

Open the infographic at full size

What a compliant label carries

Malaysia’s Packaging and Labelling Regulations 2024 spell out what has to be on the pack. 

Everything in this section was read directly against the gazette: Packaging and Labelling Regulations 2024, P.U.(A) 261/2024, bilingual, 234 pages. On the graphic and text warnings panel, do note the 65% figure. Trade guidance circulating in the market says 50%, and it is wrong. The gazette is the source. What a P.U.(A) number means.

Sample e-liquid label

Six things a compliant bottle must show

A sample bottle shown from the front and the back, annotated with the six required label items, listed below.

A sample bottle, for illustration. Not a real product. The graphic warning and the English warning text are not shown here.

The six things:

  1. The health warning panel
  2. The required warning wording
  3. Nicotine strength
  4. Flavouring
  5. Who made it, and where
  6. Size

  1. The health warning panel

    Graphic and text warnings must cover 65% of both the front and back panels, running from the top edge. Bahasa Malaysia goes on the front, English on the back. The word “AMARAN” or “WARNING” appears in yellow on matt black, with the warning text in white on matt black.

  2. The required warning wording

    The warning text includes “Produk ini menghasilkan bahan kimia yang membahayakan kesihatan” (the product produces chemicals harmful to health), plus the cessation-support service at jomquit.moh.gov.my and the line “Dilarang Jual Kepada orang belum dewasa” (sale to minors is prohibited).

  3. Nicotine strength

    Nicotine content must be shown. The legal cap is 20 mg per ml, reduced from 35 mg per ml on 1 October 2025. Anything claiming more than 20 mg per ml is not compliant.

  4. Flavouring

    The flavouring used has to be stated on the pack.

  5. Who made it, and where

    The manufacturer or importer’s name and full address must appear, and a P.O. box does not count. There must also be a manufacturing date, marked “Tarikh Dikilang”.

  6. Size

    Bottled e-liquid is capped at 15 ml under Part I of the Fifth Schedule. A disposable pod or cartridge is capped at 2 ml under regulation 9(4), in force since 1 October 2026. It was 3 ml under regulation 9(3) before that. Pods must not be made to look like toys or food.

Non-compliant packaging can be reported to the Ministry of Health through MyLapor.

Check the gazette before you print labels

A trade summary of the Act 852 labelling rules circulates that gets the warning size wrong. See the correction and the gazette reference on our Act 852 page.

Penalties under Act 852

The table covers the penalties for offences.

Penalties under Act 852 for retailer-relevant offences
OffenceIndividualBody corporate
Importing, manufacturing or distributing unregistered products, section 3(2)First offence: up to RM20,000 or 1 year, or to both. Repeat: up to RM30,000 or 2 years, or to both.First offence: RM20,000 to RM100,000 or up to 2 years, or to both. Repeat: RM50,000 to RM300,000 or up to 3 years, or to both.
Breach of the Control of Sale Regulations (display, online, vending, location), section 10(2)First offence: up to RM20,000 or 1 year, or to both. Repeat: up to RM30,000 or 2 years, or to both.First offence: RM20,000 to RM100,000 or up to 2 years, or to both. Repeat: RM50,000 to RM300,000 or up to 3 years, or to both.
Sale to a person under 18, section 13(2)First offence: up to RM20,000 or 1 year, or to both. Repeat: up to RM30,000 or 2 years, or to both.First offence: RM20,000 to RM100,000 or up to 2 years, or to both. Repeat: RM50,000 to RM300,000 or up to 3 years, or to both.
Smoking in a no-smoking place, section 16(3)Up to RM5,000.Not applicable
Proprietor fails to display the required warning sign, section 18(2)Up to RM5,000. The offence is compoundable, and section 48(2) caps a compound at 50 per cent of the maximum fine, with the Public Prosecutor's written consent.Not applicable

Penalty amounts as set out in Act 852 and its subsidiary regulations; check the Attorney General’s Chambers register for the current text. Section numbers are from the printed Act. On top of any fine, a product’s registration can be suspended or cancelled, with no compensation or refunds of any fees.

The primary sources of the law

Some section numbering in circulation comes from law-firm summaries rather than the Act itself, so check any exact citation before relying on it in a dispute. The Compounding of Offences Regulations 2024 are P.U.(A) 259/2024, the Approved Laboratories Order 2024 is P.U.(A) 263/2024 and the Notice Under Section 47 Regulations 2024 are P.U.(A) 264/2024, as listed in the Attorney General's Chambers register for the Act. Our working on the regulations.

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