Muslims around the world will begin fasting from dawn until sunset in observance of the holy month of Ramadan this week.
It is expected to begin on either Wednesday or Thursday depending on the sighting of the crescent moon.
This is because the Islamic year follows the Hijri calender, which is a lunar cycle.
Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with the belief in one God (shahada), prayer (salah), performing the pilgrimage (hajj) and giving alms (zakat).
Though many tend to associate Ramadan mostly with avoiding food and water, there are several lifestyle habits which Muslims must abstain from during fasting hours in order to correctly observe the month.
Can you smoke or vape when fasting?
Just like eating and drinking, smoking or vaping is not permitted while fasting.
If someone smokes or vapes while they are fasting, the fast will immediately be broken.
Smoking breaks the fast because the smoke contains particles that can reach the stomach.
The majority of Islamic scholars also say that smoking is generally seen as something which is haram (forbidden) in Islam because of its harmful effect on the body.
This also applies to vaping with e-cigarettes because of the inhalation of harmful chemicals.
Al-Magrib Institute says: “It is impermissible to use e-cigarettes because of their harmful nature, and in addition they also break the fast due to the ingestion of nicotine as well as the manner of its ingestion, identical to the rulings applied to normal cigarettes.”
According to Islamqa.info, vapes which do not contain any harmful substances and are made up of natural flavouring only are not considered haram.
However, they still cannot be used during fasting hours as it counts as consumption.
