Using snuff, steam inhalation or vapour rub in the day in Ramadan

استعمال السعوط والتبخيرة واستنشاق الفكس في نهار رمضان

A question about using snuff, steam inhalation or inhaling vapour rub in the day in Ramadan, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that they break the fast because they are substances inhaled into the lungs, while a mere scent of which no substance reaches the interior does not. The Department answered that using snuff, steam inhalation or vapour rub during the day in Ramadan invalidates the fast, because these preparations are substances that enter the lungs by inhalation, and the lungs are part of the body's interior. It said that whoever uses them must keep refraining from food and drink for the rest of the day out of respect for the month, and make the day up after Ramadan. It added that if it is only a scent, with none of the substance itself reaching the interior, it does not break the fast.

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Summary

A question about using snuff, steam inhalation or inhaling vapour rub in the day in Ramadan, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that they break the fast because they are substances inhaled into the lungs, while a mere scent of which no substance reaches the interior does not. 1

The question

The questioner asked about the ruling on using snuff, steam inhalation or inhaling vapour rub (Vicks) during the day in Ramadan. 1

The answer

The Department answered that using snuff, steam inhalation or vapour rub during the day in Ramadan invalidates the fast, because these preparations are substances that enter the lungs by inhalation, and the lungs are part of the body's interior. 1 It said that whoever uses them must keep refraining from food and drink for the rest of the day out of respect for the month, and make the day up after Ramadan. 1 It added that if it is only a scent, with none of the substance itself reaching the interior, it does not break the fast. 1

About this record

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4121, dated 28 January 2026. 1 The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.

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About
Ramadan (the month of fasting): its name, the sighting of its crescent, its special features, and the virtues and acts of worship recommended in it

People and things also explored

Wearing an appetite-suppressing or nicotine patch while fasting· Are exams an excuse to break the fast in Ramadan?· Breaking the fast for people in hard physical work· Completing thirty days of fasting, then moving to a country still fasting· Cooking for someone who is not fasting in Ramadan· Endoscopy during the day in Ramadan· Enemas and suppositories while fasting· Eye drops while fasting

Sources

  1. Jordan's General Iftaa Department (aliftaa.jo) , fatwa 4121

Original page

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Using snuff, steam inhalation or vapour rub in the day in Ramadan”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/work/fatwa-aliftaa-jo-snuff-steam-and-vapour-rub-inhalation-while-fasting/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-01.

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Wearing an appetite-suppressing or nicotine patch while fasting

A question about wearing an appetite-suppressing or nicotine patch while fasting, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that there is no need for it for someone who takes the pre-dawn meal and breaks the fast as the Sunna teaches, but that it does not break the fast because it is not nourishing and does not enter the body's interior through an open passage. The Department answered that fasting is a great act of worship and one of the pillars of Islam, and that someone who takes the pre-dawn meal and breaks the fast as the Sunna teaches meets no great hardship, so there is no need for such a patch. It said that the patch nevertheless does not break the fast, because it is not nourishing and does not enter the body's interior (al-jawf) through an open passage.