East Java MUI Issues Fatwa Against Vape Misuse for Narcotics

Anything that brings great harm and damages the fabric of social life, whether to oneself or to others, must be firmly dealt with.

Surabaya (ANTARA) — The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) of East Java has declared it haram to misuse electronic cigarettes (vapes) as a medium for using narcotics, psychotropic substances, intoxicants and other illegal addictive substances, through Fatwa Number 1 of 2026.

“We want this fatwa to serve as a preventive step. Electronic cigarettes must not be misused for drugs,” said the Chairman of MUI East Java, KH Abdul Halim Soebahar, in a statement in Surabaya on Thursday.

The fatwa, issued in early July 2026, affirms that the object of the prohibition is the act of misusing electronic cigarette devices for activities related to narcotics, not the use of electronic cigarettes in general.

The fatwa explains that misuse refers to the use of electronic cigarettes or vape liquids that deviate from their purpose, function, legal provisions and applicable regulations.

Electronic cigarettes were originally intended as a medium for delivering nicotine or certain substances through a vaporisation process.

Beyond the misuse of vapes as a medium for narcotics abuse, MUI East Java has also ruled that any facilities supporting such abuse or the illegal production of inhalation devices fall into the haram category.

“Anything that brings great harm and damages the fabric of social life, whether to oneself or to others, must be firmly dealt with,” said KH Abdul Halim.

KH Abdul Halim stressed that the fatwa was issued as a preventive measure against narcotics consumption through various media, including the misuse of vapes.

The prohibited activities include producing, mixing, processing, blending, packaging, distributing, importing, exporting, buying and selling, promoting, advertising, or providing narcotics and other illegal substances.

One of the fatwa’s points states that misusing electronic cigarettes, vape liquids or similar devices as a means of using, storing, concealing or disseminating narcotics, psychotropic substances, intoxicants and illegal addictive substances is haram under Islamic law.

MUI East Java also emphasised the importance of involving various parties to strengthen coordination in surveillance and early detection in order to prevent narcotics abuse through electronic cigarettes.

“We are working with the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), the Health Office, the police and various experts. This fatwa was drafted based on textual study, context and field clarification, so it has a scientifically accountable basis,” said KH Abdul Halim.