Government may enhance vaping laws to tackle drug-laced vapes
Government agencies are considering further steps to better address the vaping issue, including whether current laws for enforcement can be enhanced, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Home Affairs told The Straits Times on July 12.
In response to queries, the ministries said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has already detected 28 cases where e-vaporiser pods were found to contain etomidate within the first half of 2025. This is nearly three times as many as the 10 cases detected in 2024.
Vaping was banned in Singapore in February 2018.
Between January 2024 and March 2025, HSA, which is the enforcement agency for vaping-related offences, seized more than $41 million worth of e-vaporisers and their related components.
"The trend of e-vaporisers containing psychotropic substances such as etomidate and controlled drugs has been observed overseas and now in Singapore," the ministries said in their statement.
In April, a 13-year-old girl was detained after she was spotted behaving erratically outside the State Courts while puffing on an e-cigarette. A subsequent raid of her home found that she had an etomidate-laced device, also known as a Kpod, in her possession.
HSA later identified and caught the 25-year-old man who sold the e-vaporiser to the girl. One e-vaporiser and three pods seized from him were also found to contain etomidate.
The man, his 26-year-old wife and the teenager are all assisting in the investigation.
In their statement, the ministries described vaping as a serious issue that MOH has been concerned about. "With e-vaporisers now incorporating psychotropic substances such as etomidate, the concerns have been heightened."
The ministries said various agencies have been conducting rigorous enforcement to tackle the issue.
"For example, the HSA works closely with agencies such as the Singapore Police Force, Central Narcotics Bureau, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), National Parks Board and National Environment Agency (NEA), to enforce against e-vaporisers.
"The Health Promotion Board is also working with the Ministry of Education to raise awareness about the harms of vaping amongst students, and support individuals seeking to stop the habit of vaping through the I Quit Programme," the ministries added.
As part of surveillance and enforcement efforts, the ministries said that HSA targets three key areas: monitoring activities online and at targeted hot spots, disrupting supply chains, and taking action against those who supply or use e-vaporisers.
"HSA has intensified operations against both physical and online distribution networks, strengthened border controls with ICA, and increased enforcement presence in public spaces, together with NEA, where vaping is prevalent," the ministries said, adding that HSA also takes action against advertisements targeting Singaporeans.
As a result, more offences have been detected and offenders taken to task, they added.
The ministries noted that etomidate, which is classified as a poison and regulated under the Poisons Act, has clinical use as an anaesthetic agent. It is permitted only in clinical settings and subject to strict conditions.
"The etomidate found in e-vaporisers or supplied in oil capsules or formulations to be inhaled directly into users' lungs are not medical products and are prohibited," the ministries said.
They added that cases involving etomidate-laced vapes that agencies come across are referred to HSA for further action, similar to other medication-related substances.
The ministries said the adverse effects of etomidate when used in vapes can be serious, including causing involuntary movements or spasm of muscles, confusion, seizures and psychosis.
"It can lead to physical dependence," they added.
Enforcement agencies will be stepping up and coordinating closely to take stern action against those who import, sell, distribute, possess, use or purchase e-vaporisers, particularly those laced with etomidate, under the appropriate legislations, the ministries said.
The spread of drug-laced e-vaporisers has also raised concerns in Malaysia, where police revealed that 65 per cent of the vape liquids seized since 2023 contained banned substances such as synthetic cannabinoids.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had reported in May that there has been an increase in the detection of e-vaporisers laced with synthetic drugs and pharmaceutical products like etomidate in East Asia and South-east Asia.
Under current laws in Singapore, possessing, using and buying e-vaporisers carry a maximum fine of $2,000.
Distributing, importing and selling prohibited tobacco products such as vapes and their components carry a heavier penalty - a fine of up to $10,000, or imprisonment of up to six months, or both.
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Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Current laws need to keep up with the technology used to deliver synthetic drugs, said one expert. SINGAPORE – Medical experts have called for legal agility to tackle vaping, which they say has evolved into a harmful and dangerous scourge with more drug-laced e-vaporisers detected. Their comments come in the wake of an announcement on July 12 by the Government, which signalled the possibility of tougher enforcement laws to tackle vaping amid a spike in seizures of e-vaporisers laced with the anaesthetic etomidate. Mr Yip Hon Weng, MP for Yio Chu Kang SMC, who agreed that enforcement laws need to be enhanced, noted that Singapore already has some of the world's toughest drug laws. 'But as the landscape evolves, so must our legal tools. 'There is perhaps scope to go further – for example, by explicitly including combo drug-vape products under the Poisons Act, and granting the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) clearer jurisdiction the moment drug traces are detected,' he said. There have been similar legal updates in the past, Mr Yip said, adding that when Subutex and glue sniffing became threats, the law evolved to empower CNB with the tools to respond. The same legislative approach can and should apply to drug-laced vapes, he said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Govt will continue to support families, including growing group of seniors: PM Wong at PCF Family Day Singapore From Normal stream to Parliament: 3 Singapore politicians share their journeys World Deal or no deal? 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Professor Teo Yik-Ying, dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said current laws need to also keep up with the technology used to deliver synthetic drugs. 'Our narcotics laws need to be updated to capture some of these new changes in technology, where the delivery system now is using e-cigarettes and vapes,' he said. 'So, effectively, if I am a police officer and I catch someone with a vape, and I detect that the vape cartridge is actually a Kpod... the person is not just caught for vaping, but also caught for possession of narcotics. 'Suddenly... you will realise that the penalty increases so significantly that people now have a fear of just taking Kpods.' Although vaping has been banned in Singapore since 2018, the Health Sciences Authority still seized more than $41 million worth of e-vaporisers and their related components between January 2024 and March 2025. This is a significant spike from the $95,460 worth of seizures across 2019. In the first nine months of 2024, about 9,680 people were caught using or possessing vapes. This is more than the 7,838 people caught in the whole of 2023. Assistant Professor Yvette van der Eijk from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health said that what has encouraged the spread is the marketing of vaping products from other countries. 'If an influencer from, say, Indonesia promotes vaping products, that content can still reach young Singaporeans. 'Also, for a policy to be effective, it must be properly enforced, and people must be aware of its rationale so that they accept the policy. Stronger enforcement in the community and more education would be helpful,' said Prof van der Eijk. Starting young While some have argued for regulating vaping rather than an outright ban, recent studies in Britain have shown that regulations do little to limit access to e-vaporisers, including those laced with drugs. In Britain, vaping is legal for those above the age of 18, although disposable vapes have been banned across all age groups since June 1, 2025, to address environmental concerns and to protect young people from nicotine addiction. Professor Christopher Pudney from the University of Bath in Britain said his research showed that vapers there start young, between the ages of 13 and 16. 'Around the middle of 2023, we started to see a lot of media reports in the UK of children collapsing in schools, associated with vaping,' Prof Pudney told ST. 'So, we just tracked those media reports. And it got to the point where there was almost one report every week of a child collapsing in school, which is obviously insane.' His studies also showed that schoolchildren may be unknowingly smoking vapes spiked with synthetic cannabis, also known as Spice. The researchers in his team found that out of 596 vapes confiscated across 38 schools in England, one in six contained Spice. Prof Pudney, a biotechnology expert, said tests his team conducted have also picked up traces of heroin, MDMA (commonly found in Ecstasy) and ketamine in seized vaporisers. He used the world's first portable device, which is able to detect synthetic drugs in vapes in 30 seconds, to trace the chemicals. Despite these advancements, Prof Pudney said that when a drug in e-vaporisers is detected by the authorities there and made illegal, organised crime groups would subtly change the drug composition and flood the market with the new product. Mr Yip said he is aware that CNB and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) are already building up rapid-testing and toxicology capabilities to detect novel substances in vape liquids. Etomidate is known to cause a type of muscle spasm called myoclonus, which patients may describe as tremors, said Dr Clare Anne Fong, associate consultant at the Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at National University Hospital and Alexandra Hospital. It can also result in difficulties in processing thoughts and altered sensory experiences, such as numbness and tremors, she added. A person should seek medical attention when he displays such symptoms. 'As the dosing is unpredictable, there is a risk of sudden unconsciousness and respiratory failure, which can be life-threatening,' said Dr Fong. 'Coughing out of blood is also dangerous as it can result in breathing difficulties and low oxygen levels, especially if the volume of blood is large.' Dr Sharen Tian, a family physician at Raffles Medical Group, said that when etomidate is misused via vapes, it can induce euphoria and dissociation, leading to psychological dependence. 'Abusing etomidate through vaping can lead to severe health complications,' she told ST. 'The identified adverse effects include nausea, muscle spasms, respiratory depression, seizures and psychosis.' Initially, adult smokers seeking alternatives were the primary users of e-vaporisers, said Dr Tian. 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'This is more than just a policy challenge – it is a growing threat in schools, community and online spaces. 'The recent case involving teenagers reportedly behaving erratically after inhaling drug-laced Kpods outside a Punggol mall is not just worrying – it is a red flag. 'These devices are not only illegal, but they are also dangerous and designed to avoid detection,' he added.
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How should the healthcare sector deal with the opportunities and risks that come with the tech revolution? Health Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung addressed the issue at the ninth CHI Innovate conference on July 10. The following is an edited text of his speech. With the power of AI in our hands, healthcare institutions need to use it judiciously and deploy it thoughtfully, says Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. The way healthcare uses AI is different from many other industries. We are not overwhelmed by it, in the way AI has disrupted the music, entertainment or transport sectors; or digitalisation has revamped the telecommunications, retail or financial services sector. This is because healthcare is an essential public service that cannot be substituted. It is also highly regulated. This means the determined and heavy hand of clinical governance can possibly keep out disruptive technological changes. In Singapore, we are, of course, not going to do that. On the other hand, healthcare systems around the world are disrupted by a separate force – not of technology, but of nature. And that is demography, and the progressive ageing of our population. Hence, the healthcare sector is in a unique, and I would say, advantageous position. We are confronting the biggest challenge of our generation, which is ageing. We have AI technology on our side, which we are in a position to titrate, introducing it judiciously into our system to help tackle our challenge. This also means healthcare leaders are in a special position to envision the future, mobilise people and synergise human skills and AI to benefit our patients. With that in mind, let me offer a few thoughts on what healthcare leaders need to do. Strategy and Vision First, we need to define and articulate our strategy – how are we serving customers differently? What is the big change? I find the example of PSA Singapore inspiring. I used to oversee the PSA as the minister for transport. PSA has been doing very well over the past few years. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and a setback in global trade, container volumes are rising. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Govt will continue to support families, including growing group of seniors: PM Wong at PCF Family Day Singapore From Normal stream to Parliament: 3 Singapore politicians share their journeys World Deal or no deal? 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Where PSA saw opportunity in global supply chain disruptions, we have to contend with changing patient mix due to ageing. More patients are older, with complex multiple conditions. They need preventive care that avoids triggering the conditions, and continual care after they are discharged from hospitals. Both preventive and continual care should be delivered in the community. But today, too much healthcare is still accumulated at the acute hospitals, which is the most expensive, often too late in the course of disease progression, and not necessarily the best setting for patients. The big change we need to bring about in healthcare today is to deliver as much care as possible, especially preventive and continuous care, through the community, by leveraging technology and manpower transformation. If we can do that, healthcare becomes a life companion, which is all round us, and not just delivered in hospitals and clinics. While in Saudi Arabia last year, my host showed me how a team of specialists was congregated in an operations room, attending via telehealth to patients in villages far across the desert. It is a model driven by geographical necessity. In the Netherlands, the company Buurtzorg, which means 'neighbourhood care' in Dutch, is a dominant player in home nursing care. They are organised into small teams of nurses, each taking care of an entire neighbourhood. The nurses are empowered to do many things – from assessing what the resident needs, to tailoring the care plans, to delivering the medical and support services. There are no long chains of command or complex governance frameworks to navigate. When the resident needs help, these nurses respond quickly and effectively. But they are well-supported, with direct access to specialists and nurse coaches in the backend, and an IT system to enable sharing of information. Singapore has demonstrated exciting possibilities to the world too. With Healthier SG, Age Well SG and Community Health Posts firmly in place, we have a springboard to build community care for the future, as a core shift in strategy. Fears, Concerns, Hope and Confidence Second, organisations need to recognise that change instils fear and concern amongst people, and these need to be addressed decisively. For example, workers will immediately worry that technology will render their service redundant. In an industry disrupted by technology and facing an uncertain future, it is better to be honest and forthright with people. But as I mentioned earlier, this is not the scenario in healthcare. We are facing rising patient loads, and technology is a potential saviour. I recall how several years ago, DBS Bank embarked on a major strategy to digitalise all its services. Workers were naturally worried, but the DBS leadership assured their staff that their jobs were safe, and they would instead train workers with new skills to adapt to the changes. In the ensuing years, DBS' share prices soared and at one point it was voted the best bank in the world. Patients and the public may have concerns too. For healthcare to be delivered seamlessly across all settings, and especially in the community, a patient's data needs to be captured and shared amongst healthcare providers whom he sought care from. There will be concerns about cybersecurity, which we are addressing by strengthening IT infrastructure. There will be worries about data privacy. We are therefore enacting new legislation, namely the proposed Health Information Act. Under the Act, beyond various data protection measures, a patient can choose to restrict the sharing of his medical data amongst the healthcare providers he sought care from. This is not an ideal arrangement and will undermine quality of care for the patient. However, by making this choice available, it addresses fears and instils confidence. Based on experience around the world, the number that eventually exercised the restriction has been very low. When there is greater availability of genetic data, there will be public concerns about how the data is used, and whether technology will inadvertently push us across societal ethical lines. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is therefore working on enhancing legislative protections on the use of genetic test information and will be conducting broad public consultation. This will provide greater clarity on what genetic information can be used for, such as for medical treatment, and what it cannot be used for, such as in deciding employment and insurance underwriting. Beyond addressing the fears and concerns arising from technology, we can also usher in hope and confidence about the future. Everyone can be empowered to participate in innovation and leverage technology to do a better job. DBS has managed to achieve this. 3M is also an inspiring example, where its leaders encourage ground-up innovation and allow employees to spend 15 per cent of their time on projects unrelated to their work. That positive culture has turned 3M from a mining company into a diverse manufacturer, including in electronics and healthcare. The Human Core Finally, organisations need to be careful not to devolve their core competencies to technology. As leaders, we also have a role in safeguarding humanity. We welcomed machines that could replace human labour. We applauded when computer software could process reams of paperwork in a moment, substituting human toil. We appreciated technology and servers that multiplied human memory. We were amazed when miniaturisation of computing power revolutionised human communication and perception. But with each advancement in technology, machines edge closer to the human core. We are happy to be relieved of labour, manual calculations, paperwork, even meeting face to face, but should we be happy when AI starts to replace human judgment, creativity, empathy and relationship? We should bear in mind even in the early phases of technological advancement, that are regarded as unmitigated good now, there were profound unintended negative consequences. When machines substituted human labour during the Industrial Revolution, it led to suppression of workers' rights, which in turn gave rise to socialism and nearly triggered World War III. As digital technology revolutionises human communications, it might have also rewired the minds of a generation. The evidence is still being debated, but ask any psychologist or counsellor, and they will tell you stories of how smart devices, video games or social media addiction have inflicted pain on young minds. There is no doubt AI will have a profound impact on society. We just don't know its full extent yet. We have heard warnings about the potential loss of creativity, independent thinking, ability to learn, and the resilience to seek answers to difficult problems. Healthcare, beyond medical knowledge, is all about the qualities of being human. With the power of AI in our hands, healthcare institutions need to use it judiciously and deploy it thoughtfully. Last year, I suggested a basic principle – make sure that healthcare is AI-enhanced and enabled, but not AI-decided. But this is only a general principle, which needs to be interpreted and implemented wisely in healthcare institutions. There is a good example in NHG Health, in the way it uses AI to read X-rays. AI will sieve out the normal readings and close the loop with the patients quickly. Those with abnormal readings will still be attended to by clinicians. That way, healthcare professionals do not lose their core competence. This is also why my current favourite AI use case in healthcare is the systemwide automation of clinical documentation – significant productivity gain, with negligible impact on our core competencies and humanity. I am glad we are having this in-person conference to discuss AI in healthcare. We welcome more human connections and networking, locally and internationally, to figure out how best to seize this opportunity of a lifetime to improve healthcare. To this end, MOH will be the first Asian country to join HealthAI's Global Regulatory Network as one of its Pioneer Countries. HealthAI is a non-profit organisation to help governments implement and strengthen the governance and regulation of AI in the healthcare sector. We will contribute to this effort. Thank you for listening to this speech, written without any AI assistance.
