SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): The authorities are looking to take action faster against young repeat vape offenders, including by detecting them from their first offence.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on April 12 that the authorities have noticed a group of “recalcitrant” young vape users, with some of them getting caught three times even while undergoing rehabilitation.
He said: “For this group, (we are) paying some attention to it, because you don’t want a group of young, recalcitrant youths going into this, getting addicted, and then they destroy their lives.”
The authorities have stepped up enforcement efforts against vapes in the past year, following reports that a number of them were laced with drugs.
Asked about the vaping situation here with more stringent laws to kick in on May 1, Mr Ong said the temporary measures have worked for the majority and that recalcitrant offenders were expected.
But this group of young repeat offenders was of particular concern, he said while speaking to local media on the sidelines of a brisk walking event in Sembawang Central on April 12.
He listed current protocols whereby action is escalated each time a person is caught with vapes laced with etomidate, an anaesthetic agent.
First-time offenders are fined and sent for rehabilitation, while those caught a second time are sent for drug testing and rehabilitation, and also placed under mandatory supervision for six months.
Those caught a third time can be sent to a drug rehabilitation centre. If they are under 16, they are instead placed on mandatory community supervision for a year.
But the authorities are now looking at how they can escalate and take firmer action faster, such as by detecting potential repeat offenders from the first offence, said Mr Ong.
He said: “That way, I think we nip the problem in the bud. These are operational issues that are still unfolding and we are still improving.”
His comments come less than three weeks before May 1, when the new anti-vaping laws under the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act kick in.
The laws were passed in March, and will see vape users face fines of up to $10,000, which is five times the current maximum of $2,000.
Vaping was banned here in 2018.
In 2025, the authorities intensified their crackdown after reports of people using Kpods, which are etomidate-laced vapes. Kpod users were seen in public behaving like “zombies”, suffering from seizures and psychotic episodes.
This led to The Straits Times launching its anti-vaping campaign, Vaping: The Invisible Crisis, on July 13, 2025, to raise awareness of the scourge.
In his National Day Rally speech on Aug 17, 2025, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said vaping would be treated as a drug issue.
Etomidate was temporarily listed under the Misuse of Drugs Act as a Class C drug from Sept 1, 2025, with tougher penalties imposed.
Since then, over 5,000 people have been caught for vaping offences. As at Feb 28, 593 of them were Kpod users. Of those placed on rehabilitation, 42 have defaulted.
Mr Ong said on April 12 many of those caught were young people who tried vaping out of curiosity and peer pressure, and rehabilitation worked for the majority.
“Once they were caught, fined and brought into rehabilitation, we noticed most of them adhered to the rehabilitation programme, and it does look like they won’t go back,” he added.
“Because we noticed that it has worked for the majority, we have basically enshrined this (temporary measure) into the new law.”
Penalties for vape offences from May 1 will be raised significantly, to five times for users, 20 times for sellers and 30 times for smugglers.
This means vape users will face fines of up to S$10,000, while sellers can be handed fines of up to S$200,000 and six years’ jail. Smugglers can be fined up to $300,000 and jailed for nine years.
Currently, vape users face a maximum fine of S$2,000, while distributors, importers and sellers of vapes and their components face jail time of up to six months and a fine of up to S$10,000. -- The Straits Times/ANN
