GEORGE TOWN, March 27 -- The National Poison Centre (NPC) of Universiti Sains Malaysia has recorded a five-fold increase in poisoning cases due to electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) exposure last year.

The NPC drug and poison information services chief pharmacist Sulastri Samsudin said there was an increase of 30.6 per cent last year compared to 2019.

She said there was also a change in trend where more teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 years old experienced poisoning due to intentional use of e-cigarettes.

She said 2023 was also the year that nicotine was removed from the Poisons Act 1952.

"More than 95 per cent of reported cases were symptomatic," she said in a statement today.

She said a majority of symptoms exhibited by p...