Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said during the National Day Rally that nationwide enforcement against vaping will be stepped up. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: When Sara (not her real name) heard Prime Minister Lawrence Wong first mention the word “vaping” in his National Day Rally speech, she immediately sat up on her couch.
Sara, 55, has been at her wits’ end for more than a year due to her 13-year-old daughter’s vaping addiction.
At a loss on how to help her, she called various agencies repeatedly, but it led nowhere.
For months, Sara, who works in social services and is widowed, felt alone and thought vaping was a problem only a few faced.
She said: “Now, the leader of our country is talking about vaping at the National Day Rally. It’s clear to me the Government does not see this as a small issue.
“It had been raised in Parliament before. But now that it’s being addressed by the Prime Minister, it’s significant because it shows this is finally recognised as a nationwide challenge.”
On Aug 17, PM Wong said the Government will take much tougher action against vaping and treat it as a drug issue, with stiffer penalties to be imposed.
He said nationwide enforcement will be stepped up, with a major public education drive starting with schools, institutes of higher learning, and during national service.
Sara said: “If the Government is the one taking this issue head on, I’m hopeful. And with my daughter currently in a residential girls’ home, hope is a scarce resource for me.”
Another parent, Madam Tan (not her real name), said despite the Government’s promise to take a tougher stance on vapes, she still worries about her son, an 18-year-old student at the Institute of Technical Education.
He has been addicted to etomidate-laced vapes, or Kpods, for years since picking it up in secondary school.
“Even though there is progress with PM Wong addressing this issue, I don’t think I can sleep properly until the laws are actually in place,” said Madam Tan, who is in her 50s.
She also hopes more can be done to tackle the ease of buying vapes and Kpods online.
She added: “After my son gets his Kpods confiscated, he can easily get new ones online.
“I hope the authorities can truly clamp down on these sellers in Singapore. There seem to be so many. We need to prevent vapes from being so easily accessible to youth here.”
What PM Wong had said ensures that vaping and Kpod abuse will be a Government priority, said Delfard Tay, whose 19-year-old daughter ended her life in September 2024 after being addicted to Kpods.
She was found at the foot of the family’s Tanjong Pagar flat.
Tay, a manager in a logistics company, said: “I cannot say that PM Wong’s assurance had come too late for my daughter because she had other issues. But at least now more people know about the potential harm Kpod brings.
“The issue for parents is to find out what are the root causes that make their children abuse Kpods and vapes.”
Tay was surprised how quickly vaping and Kpods had become a national issue.
Two British tabloids, The Sun and The Mirror, published reports on Aug 17 about his plight.
Tay, a former drug abuser, said: “I’m glad for the almost daily news reports and influencers pushing their anti-Kpod views. I know now I’m not the only one suffering in silence.”
Teachers said they appreciated PM Wong highlighting vaping to be taken more seriously with stiffer penalties.
Said one teacher who declined to be named: “I think it will definitely help to thumb down the situation a lot.”
Others were more cautious.
A secondary school teacher, who declined to be named, said that more specifics were needed before recalcitrant vapers take PM Wong’s warning seriously.
He said: “Once they realise that penalties are for sellers and not consumers, it is like a loophole for them to exploit. Right now, students are only issued warnings and given fines.”
Some teachers highlighted the role of distributors.
Said a teacher: “I think distributors and sellers need to be really clamped down hard first. Because I know for sure they (students) can get them easily from across the Causeway. They do home deliveries, even.”
Referring to The Straits Times’ campaign called Vaping: The Invisible Crisis, which was launched on July 13, Sara said: “I’m appreciative and amazed at the speed that all this has happened since then. So much has been done in the past month, with ST raising awareness on this and agencies working together to fight this.”
In the past month, the Government has escalated its anti-vaping measures in various ways.
On July 20, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the authorities were working to list etomidate under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
On July 30, Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said his ministry will second its officers to the Health Sciences Authority. Aside from enforcement, they will also help in the supervision, treatment and rehabilitation of abusers.
And on Aug 21, District Judge Wong Li Tein signalled possible sterner penalties for vape-related offences in the light of public sentiment.
Sara said: “Vaping is a serious issue for our youth. My hope is that if we tackle this correctly now, we can prevent the next generation from facing it.” - The Straits Times/ANN
