KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 – Negeri Sembilan banned the use of electronic cigarettes and vaping in line with the National Fatwa Council’s decision Tuesday to declare them as ‘haram’. The Islamic Religious Council of Selangor, Sabah, Sarawak and Pahang will hold meetings before making a decision on the matter while Terengganu, Perlis and Perak are waiting for the federal government’s decision.
In SEREMBAN, Negeri Sembilan mufti Datuk Mohd Yusof Ahmad said that they would comply with the National Fatwa Council’s decision, and would officially ban vaping after the state Fatwa Committee meeting next month. He said vaping can cause more harm than good and should be prevented before it becomes deadly like drug abuse.
In SHAH ALAM, Selangor mufti Datuk Mohd Tamyes Abd Wahid said state Fatwa Committee would meet next month after obtaining additional information from the state government. He said before any action is taken, the people of Selangor need to be exposed to the dangers and disadvantages of vaping. He said this in a statement when commenting on the decision announced by the National Fatwa Council chairman, Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Abdul Shukor Husin.
Abdul Shukor said the decision was made after taking into consideration all aspects, including from the Syariah point of view (Islamic law), medical and scientific research which found electronic cigarettes wasteful and harmful to health. In KOTA KINABALU, state mufti Datuk Bungsu Aziz Jaafar said Sabah Fatwa Committee would convene a meeting soon to discuss and decide on the matter.
Usually, he said that the committee will sit in March, but since there is a need, we will see over the next month and set the date. Besides being harmful to health, Bungsu said there was a possibility that vape users were mixing drugs in their vaping fluids. In KUCHING, Sarawak mufti Datuk Kipli Yassin said the Fatwa Board was expected to convene a meeting to decide on the matter in January.
In KUANTAN, Pahang mufti Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Rahman Osman said the state religious council was expected to take the same stance as the National Fatwa Council, but the matter needed to be discussed thoroughly. He said the state Rukun Syarak Consultative Committee meeting would be held in the near future to decide on the matter. He said normally any law imposed by the National Fatwa Council will be followed by the Islamic Religious Council in states.
In KUALA NERUS, Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman said the state government would wait for the Cabinet’s decision before making any announcements. Ahmad Razif said any action against vape sellers would be done prudently.
“I have instructed the local authorities to identify the actual number of vape sellers in their area. Any unlicensed premises will be ordered to close down while those with licenses will be allowed to operate until the federal government issues a directive on the use and sales,” he said.
In KANGAR, state Religious Affairs and Human Resource Committee chairman Khairi Hassan said a final decision on the matter would only be made after the Health Ministry had decided on it. Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said the state religious council has yet to hold a meeting on the matter, but stressed that anything harmful to health was regarded as ‘haram’.
In MELAKA, state mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Mohadis Yasin said the Fatwa Committee during its meeting on Dec 10 had ruled that smoking electronic cigarettes and vaping was ‘haram’. The decision would be brought to the Melaka Religious Council meeting on Dec 28 before a decision is made, said Mohd Mohadis.
In the meantime, Johor and Kelantan had also been decided to ban the sale of vaping devices and fluids effective Jan 1 while Kedah and Penang Fatwa Committees had declared that vaping and smoking shisha sticks as ‘haram’ on Nov 23 and Dec 4 respectively.
