August 27, 2025 | 07:22 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) confirmed that it has the authority to take strict action against electronic cigarette or vape products found to contain ketamine, a substance classified as a dangerous specific drug.
BPOM Chief Taruna Ikrar said the agency’s mandate is not tied to whether the product is a cigarette or vape, but to the harmful substances inside.
“The Agency also has the authority to take action, not because of the cigarette or vape, but because it contains harmful substances,” Taruna said at BPOM’s Central Jakarta office on Wednesday, August 27, 2025.
Ketamine is commonly used in medical settings to anesthetize patients during surgical procedures. While it has limited use in medicine, Taruna explained that ketamine is increasingly being misused as a recreational drug or for non-medical purposes such as body tattooing.
“We have included it in the new BPOM regulation, and determined that ketamine is classified as a specific drug,” he said, stressing the risks of abuse.
According to Taruna, ketamine-laced vape products are designed to give users certain aromas or psychoactive effects.
BPOM, he added, has the authority to oversee the circulation of cigarette products in Indonesia, including advertising and mandatory health warnings. If ketamine is detected in a product, BPOM can immediately launch legal proceedings.
This statement follows a recent revelation by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), which discovered counterfeit ketamine used in vape pods.
BNN reported seizing 80 milliliters of synthetic marijuana (MDMB 4en-PINACA) and one vape pod shipped from Malaysia to Pandeglang, Banten. In a separate case, officers also intercepted three kilograms of powdered ketamine from France, allegedly intended for vape liquid production, along with 1,860 vape cartridges.
BNN warned that the rapid spread of new psychoactive substances with narcotic-like effects is becoming a serious issue in Indonesia. “The development of new psychoactive substances with narcotic-like effects is spreading rapidly and massively in Indonesia,” BNN said in a statement on Friday, August 22, 2025, as quoted by Antara.
To address the issue, BNN has been collecting and testing various vape brands circulating in the market. Out of 187 samples examined, 107 results have been released, while the rest remain under laboratory analysis.
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