MANILA, Philippines - Marylandian -- The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) is warning Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines not to repeat the policy mistakes that helped fuel Australia's growing illicit nicotine and tobacco market.

With Indonesia weighing tougher action on vaping, Malaysia moving closer to a broader crackdown, and the Philippines facing renewed pressure for stronger restrictions, CAPHRA says Southeast Asia is now at a critical policy crossroads. The group is urging governments to regulate safer nicotine products sensibly, rather than push consumers toward black markets while cigarettes remain widely available.

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CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas said the lesson from Australia is clear.

"When safer legal options are pushed out, illicit markets move in," Loucas said. "Southeast Asia should see Australia as a warning, not a model."

CAPHRA says the region does face real problems, including youth uptake, poor enforcement, and adulterated products. But it argues those failures should be addressed with tougher standards, stronger enforcement, and tighter controls on youth access — not by treating all smoke-free nicotine products as if they carry the same risk as cigarettes.

"Combustion remains the main driver of tobacco-related death and disease," Loucas said. "Good policy puts the toughest restrictions on cigarettes, while strictly regulating lower-risk alternatives for adults."

The group says this is not just a consumer issue but a sovereignty issue. Governments in Southeast Asia should shape policy around their own public health needs and consumer realities, rather than import prohibitionist models that have already shown serious unintended consequences elsewhere.

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Clarisse Virgino of CAPHRA Philippines said consumers must not be excluded from the debate.

"Adults who have moved away from smoking should not be treated as an afterthought," Virgino said. "If governments ignore consumers and over-correct with bans, they risk strengthening illicit trade and protecting cigarettes from competition."

CAPHRA notes that senior former WHO figures have also argued that tobacco harm reduction should be part of a credible public health strategy, particularly where the goal is to reduce smoking-related disease rather than simply condemn all nicotine use.

The organisation is calling on Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to adopt balanced regulation that protects young people, enforces product standards, tackles illicit and adulterated products, and preserves regulated adult access to lower-risk alternatives.

"A bad nicotine policy does not end demand," Loucas said. "It just hands that demand to illegal markets."