MUI Supports BNN Head's Proposal to Ban Vapes
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Deputy Chairman of the Fatwa Commission of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Prof K Shofiyullah Muzammil, supports the ban on vapes in Indonesia proposed by the Head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Inspector General Suyudi Ario Seto. This is because vapes are now widely misused as a tool for drug trafficking.
“I agree that vapes should be banned because they have been proven to be used as a tool for drug trafficking,” he said when contacted on Wednesday (8/4/2026).
Nevertheless, according to him, the ban on vapes should not stop at the devices alone, but must target the entire criminal ecosystem of narcotics that exploits such technology.
He emphasised that if only vapes are banned without dismantling the networks and criminal ecosystem, drug traffickers will seek new mediums to carry out their activities.
“The ban should not stop at vapes as a tool. The criminal ecosystem that must be dismantled. If only vapes are banned, drug crimes will emerge with other vehicles,” he stated.
Previously, the Head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Inspector General Suyudi Ario Seto, proposed a ban on the circulation of vapes in Indonesia due to their strong potential for misuse in narcotics abuse.
The proposal was presented during a working meeting with Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) regarding the Narcotics and Psychotropics Bill at the Parliamentary Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday (7/4/2026).
In that meeting, Suyudi revealed the results of BNN’s laboratory tests on 341 samples of vape liquid. The results found several concerning narcotic contents.
“From 341 samples of vape liquid, 11 samples contained cannabinoids or marijuana, and one sample contained methamphetamine or sabu,” he said.
BNN also found the content of etomidate, an anaesthetic drug, in several tested vape samples. According to Suyudi, the phenomenon of narcotics trafficking through vapes is developing very rapidly.
Currently, BNN has identified at least 175 types of new psychoactive substances (NPS) circulating in Indonesia.
He hopes that the vape ban can become a strategic step to suppress narcotics trafficking, especially etomidate, which is now starting to be misused through e-cigarettes.
“If vapes as a medium are banned, then the trafficking of etomidate can also be significantly addressed, just as sabu requires a bong as a consumption medium,” said Suyudi.
The proposal to ban vapes is now in the public spotlight and is expected to become one of the important issues in the discussion of the Narcotics and Psychotropics Bill in the DPR RI.