Vaping ban must go with prohibition of sale - Kedah Mufti

A ban on vaping and shisha smoking must be accompanied by a prohibition of their sale, said Kedah Mufti Datuk Syeikh Muhamad Baderudin Ahmad.

He said that in line with a decision to ban e-cigarettes, the government must also consider all factors which contributed to the activity.

"In Islam, alcohol is 'haram' (forbidden) not just in terms of consumption but also sale, licensing, preparation; it is haram for us to contribute to it," he told Bernama here Friday.

The Kedah 'Fatwa' Committee, at a meeting on Nov 23, decided to ban vaping and shisha smoking for Muslims, saying these could lead to health issues and wastage.

According to Syeikh Muhamad, the decision was made after careful consideration and a study of the facts, especially from the medical point of view and based on the Quran.

"It would only lead to detrimental effects, especially for the future generations, not just Muslims but everyone," he said.

Vaping became a hot issue after it was presumed to be harmful as it had nicotine-containing liquids, propylene glycol and glycerin which, when heated, produced nitrosamine, a chemical compound likely to cause cancer.

Meanwhile, director of the Kedah National Anti-Drugs Agency Mohammad Nazer Mustafa, who fully supported the decision for a ban, said the use of vape or shisha sticks were new tactics that promoted drug consumption.

He said where previously drugs were consumed intravenously, users could now consume dangerous substances like cannabis, syabu and nicotine by vaping.

This habit would be difficult to control and in the future could become a worrying phenomenon when schoolchildren start to vape or smoke shisha, he said.

President of the Consumers Association of Kedah (CAKE) Datuk Yusof Ismail also urged the government to be firm in banning the sale and distribution of vape throughout the country so as not to cause confusion among traders and consumers.

He said if vaping was banned in Kedah, would people from Kedah be considered to have committed an offence if they vaped in another state where it was not banned.