From The Chaplain’s Desk: The Long And Short Of Vaping

Question: Recently a lot of my friends have started vaping saying that it’s not as harmful to one’s health as smoking cigarettes because it doesn’t contain tobacco and it isn’t addictive. If that’s the case, is it permissible to vape?

The Short Answer

It is impermissible to vape or inhale smoke from electronic cigarettes for the following five reasons: 

1) It can be extremely harmful to one’s health because of the harmful substances often found in e-cigarette flavoring

2) It is classified as something that is unwholesome¹The arabic word being referred to here is khabith, which is used to describe something that is dirty, impure, unhealthy, and unwholesome.

3) It is a gateway to smoking cigarettes

4) It increases the risk of future addiction to other drugs, and 

5) It is a waste of one’s wealth on something that is harmful and has no benefit. 

Cigarettes, cigars, and shisha would also be impermissible for the same reasons.

The Background Of The Issue

Cigarette usage is at an all-time low among children and adults across the United States. Fifty years ago 42.4 percent of adults smoked. That number declined by more than half to 17.4 percent in 2014 and continues to drop.² http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p1126-adult-smoking.html This decline in smoking can be attributed to several different reasons, including prevention efforts aimed at young people, more scientific proof of the short and long-term health effects, increased cigarette prices, and anti-smoking laws.³http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6414a3.htm?s_cid=mm6414a3_w There is also a social aspect to the decrease in cigarette usage. 

Vaping and e-cigarettes [PC: Richard R Schunemann (unsplash)]

There’s a common misunderstanding that e-cigarettes and hookah are less harmful than cigarettes because of the absence of tobacco and a reduced amount of carcinogens. 

The Detailed Answer

It is impermissible to use e-cigarettes because of their highly harmful nature. Allah ﷻ tells us in the Qurʾān [Surah Al-Baqarah: 2;195],

“And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]. And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.”, and

“O you who have believed, do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.” [Surah An-Nisa: 4;29]

Based on these verses, the vast majority of scholars consider anything that causes tangible harm to the body to be impermissible. Similarly, the Prophet ﷺ told us, “Let there be no harm or any reciprocation of harm.” Although e-cigarettes may not contain tobacco they usually contain nicotine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have even found nicotine in e-cigarettes marketed as containing zero percent nicotine. Nicotine, whether inhaled from an e-cigarette or a regular cigarette, is a highly addictive substance that has many harmful effects on one’s body. It can cause damage to the heart, arteries, and lungs, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease. Studies show that it also negatively affects cells, which can eventually lead to cancer.⁶http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/ In addition, nicotine exposure at a young age may cause lasting harm to brain development, promote addiction, and lead to sustained tobacco use. A recent study found that trying e-cigarettes increased the odds that a teenager would also try tobacco cigarettes and become a regular smoker.⁷http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1840772 E-cigarette vapor also contains several other harmful and carcinogenic substances such as formaldehyde. Some flavorings, such as diacetyl, have even been linked to lung disease.⁸http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1413069

Since the vapor from e-cigarettes is demonstrably harmful it is classified as a substance that is evil, unwholesome, and unhealthy. Allah ﷻ has made permissible those things that are healthy and pure and has prohibited those that are unhealthy and impure. Allah ﷻ  says regarding the Prophet ﷺ, “Who makes good things lawful to them and bad things unlawful.” [Surah Al-A’raf: 7;157]

E-cigarettes may also be a gateway drug for some users, as their use is associated with the use of opiates.⁹ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30699215

Purchasing e-cigarettes is also a huge waste of money on something that is impermissible. Being wasteful is prohibited. Allah ﷻ  tells us,

“O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess.” [Surah Al-A’raf: 7;31] Recent studies show that individuals who vape are more likely to try cigarettes, which would lead to even more waste of money.

Related:

– From The Chaplain’s Desk: Smoking Weed

– From The Chaplain’s Desk: Sayyid Al-Istighfar – The Greatest Dua For Seeking Forgiveness