Official: MUI Issues Fatwa Declaring Vapes Haram

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has officially issued a fatwa declaring electronic cigarettes, or vapes, haram. The ruling is contained in MUI Fatwa No. 131 of 2026 on the legal status of electronic cigarette (REL)/vape use, adopted on Friday, 6 November 2026.

The MUI Fatwa Commission said the ruling was based on the effects of vaping on health and the environment, as well as the potential for drug abuse.

“Using electronic cigarettes (REL)/vapes is haram because it endangers health, damages the environment, and, as a preventive measure (sadd al-dhari’ah), to ensure they are not used as a means of distributing or consuming narcotics, psychotropic substances and other addictive substances,” an excerpt from the fatwa said.

Before the fatwa was issued, National Police Chief Suyudi Ario Seto had asked clerics and MUI officials to support a review of the possibility of issuing a fatwa that would prohibit vape use throughout Indonesia.

Suyudi said vapes had become a new channel for distributing liquid-form narcotics. He said the method was dangerous because such products were difficult to distinguish from ordinary vapes, both in appearance and aroma.

Suyudi explained that drug distribution methods were changing, with narcotics increasingly shifting from solid to liquid forms. E-cigarettes were then being used as a medium for drug abuse because of their concealable packaging and liquids available in various aromas, including fruit flavours.