Viral “zombie vape” videos of young Malaysian men appearing dazed and disoriented after vaping have intensified concern that drug-laced liquids are spreading through the country’s booming e-cigarette market.

The clips, shared widely on social media over the past month, showed local men slumped on the ground or behaving erratically after allegedly inhaling piu-piu or piao-piao (online slang for drug-laced vape liquids).

At least two viral cases triggered arrests and fresh police warnings regarding people “vaping excessively and carrying out shameful acts”.

“The trend not only gives a negative image to the younger generation but is feared to become a medium for normalising the culture of substance abuse and an unhealthy lifestyle,” Bukit Aman narcotics director Hussein Omar Khan said in a statement on Tuesday.

He added that some vape products were suspected of being mixed with dangerous substances or synthetic drugs that could threaten users’ safety.

Police arrested three people, including a suspected supplier, and seized a bottle of vape liquid believed to contain ketamine, after a video showed two men in an intoxicated daze at a residential parking space in Selangor.