Indonesia weighs vape ban after clerics declare it haram
Indonesia's health ministry is considering a total vape ban after the Indonesian Ulema Council declared e-cigarettes haram, while youth groups urge broader tobacco controls.Summary
Indonesia's health ministry is studying a total ban on vapes after the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa declaring the entire e-cigarette chain, from production to trade, haram under Islamic law. The fatwa, while religious guidance rather than law, carries political weight in the world's largest Muslim-majority country and has drawn government response, parliamentary endorsement, and industry warnings. The health ministry said it is considering stronger controls, including a possible total ban, noting that e-cigarettes are not risk-free and are already regulated under Government Regulation 28 of 2024. The Indonesian Youth Council for Tactical Change welcomed the fatwa but argued it must be aligned with conventional tobacco control, warning that children blocked from vapes could switch to cheap cigarettes, and urged full implementation of existing regulations, excise increases, advertising bans, and cessation services. The Indonesian Personal Vaporizer Association urged regulators to distinguish compliant businesses from drug abuse, warning that conflating legal products with narcotics would harm lawful traders, investment, jobs, and state revenue. The fatwa does not itself ban vapes; that would require legislation or regulation, which MUI has requested and the health ministry says it is studying. The unresolved tension is between MUI's prohibition of the whole chain and APVI's insistence that the target should be drug misuse, not the legal trade.
(Source：https://streamlinefeed.co.ke/)
