Govt will continue to support families, including growing group of seniors: PM Wong at PCF Family Day
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong taking a group photo with the attendees at the PCF Family Day on July 13.
SINGAPORE – Housewife Jenny Tan and her retiree husband Richard Ng, both in their 70s, feel younger than their age when they try new activities like e-sports and drone soccer at the active ageing centre at the ground floor of their Housing Board block.
The PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Sparkle Care in Yew Tee has become their almost-daily haunt since the centre opened in 2022.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on July 13 that PCF has been stepping up in senior care, in line with government efforts to provide more support to this segment of the population and to partner organisations to do so.
The Government will continue to support families in Singapore at every stage of life, he said at a PCF Family Day event held at Singapore Expo.
Recent initiatives include financial support and parental leave for young parents with newborns, and more help for large families with three or more children.
'But these days, when we talk about family support, it is no longer just about supporting young parents with children. Because these days, our society is getting older,' said PM Wong.
With an ageing population, providing family support has to also include seniors and their caregivers, he added.
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The authorities have started work on this through nationwide initiatives Healthier SG and Age Well SG, meant to keep seniors active, engaged and healthy for as long as possible, he noted.
They are also stepping up care services, such as at long-term residential facilities and at community nodes.
'A lot of this work has just started. There is still much, much more to do, and we will share more of our plans when we are ready,' said PM Wong.
He added that the Government will need partners – such as social organisations and agencies like PCF – to also play their part.
PCF is a charitable organisation founded by the People's Action Party, which PM Wong leads as its secretary-general.
PM Wong noted that PCF is already expanding its capacity to serve more seniors. A previous report said PCF will have 25 eldercare centres – senior care centres and active ageing centres – by 2027.
Madam Tan, 74, and Mr Ng, 73, are among more than 10,000 seniors currently served by 13 existing centres.
The couple have seen improvements in their general health, such as their posture, and have also made many new friends since becoming active participants at the Sparkle Care in Yew Tee. They came to know of the centre when a staff member approached them at their door.
Madam Tan, who used to just take occasional walks in the park with friends for exercise, was intrigued by the karaoke, K-pop dance and Rummy-O sessions.
When her husband retired from his job as a taxi driver, he was convinced by her to join in.
The pair have since tried out unique activities like drone soccer and are part of an informal group of senior gamers called Yew Tee Gamers. In drone soccer, players pilot drones enclosed in protective cages and score by flying the 'striker' drone through a circular goal.
They are currently training for a Counter-Strike 2 competition in October with a seniors-only category.
'We will be learning how to play Street Fighter next, and (my husband) is very excited,' said Madam Tan, in Mandarin. Street Fighter is a popular arcade game that is now available across consoles.
In his speech, PM Wong said PCF can play a unique role of fostering intergenerational bonds, as it also runs many kindergartens and childcare centres. With more eldercare centres, PCF will have more opportunities as an operator to bridge generations, he added. The theme of July 13's PCF Family Day event was Bridging Generations, Inspiring our Future.
PCF also raises funds to support different causes in the community, he added. The foundation is donating $60,000 to six charitable organisations covering seniors, children, low-income families, single mothers and those in need of mental health support.
The organisations are Blossom Seeds, Bright Hill Evergreen Home, The Salvation Army Gracehaven, Food from the Heart, HCSA-SPIN and Club Heal. Each received $10,000.
'Families have been at the heart of our nation-building journey since the very beginning,' said PM Wong.
Going forward, Singapore will be embarking on its next phase of nation-building post-SG60, he added.
'In this new phase, we will face new and more complex challenges. But I am confident that we can weather these challenges, and we can emerge stronger together.'
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Singapore Law Watch
5 hours ago
- Singapore Law Watch
Government looking at enhancing laws around vaping to tackle issue of drug-laced vapes in Singapore
Government looking at enhancing laws around vaping to tackle issue of drug-laced vapes in Singapore Source: Straits Times Article Date: 13 Jul 2025 Author: Andrew Wong & Zaihan Mohamed Yusof Cases involving e-vaporisers containing psychotropic substances on the rise. Current legislation around vaping may be strengthened following the increased detection in Singapore of electronic vaporisers containing substances such as etomidate and other controlled drugs. 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. Experts call for legal agility to tackle influx of drug-laced vapes in 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. 'Our laws should empower swift updates to controlled substance lists – not wait for the next tragedy to force a response,' added Mr Yip. Singapore's laws around synthetic drugs, or new psychoactive substances (NPS), were amended in June 2024 to regulate them based on their effects rather than specific chemical structures. Further amendments came into effect in 2025 to tackle new compounds that continue to be detected each year. 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. However, recent data indicates a surge in adolescent usage, with cases involving individuals as young as 13 years old. Mr Yip said that current standard hospital tests may not always pick up new synthetic substances unless they are specifically looking for them. Parents should therefore not take a 'clean' test result at face value if their child is showing worrying signs: confusion, seizures, erratic or zombie-like behaviour. 'One way is to insist on a comprehensive toxicology screen, and alert medical professionals to the possibility of vaping-related drug intake,' he said. Mr Yip added that accident and emergency staff, clinicians at the Institute of Mental Health, school counsellors and general practitioners should also be updated regularly on new trends in drug-laced vapes, so they can respond appropriately. 'Most importantly, talk to your children. These are no longer 'just vapes'. They are chemical cocktails disguised in sleek devices – or as I call them, 'vapes with a twist of terror',' he said. Border checks Breaking the wave of e-vaporisers and Kpods requires sharper and more coordinated enforcement, from stepping up checks at the borders to tightening screening at parcel processing centres, said Mr Yip. He added that it is critical to track deliveries and follow the trail to arrest not just buyers, but also the local distributors and peddlers. Singapore Customs and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority already do this with cigarette smuggling syndicates, framing the issue as an obligation to ensure the security and safety of Singapore. 'The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore,' the agencies had said previously. Mr Yip said enforcement efforts must also go digital. 'We should leverage AI-powered surveillance to scan darknet markets, Telegram groups and smuggling forums, where new trends often appear first,' he added. While acknowledging that the authorities are already collaborating across agencies and also working with regional counterparts, Mr Yip said this must be scaled up further. Beyond enforcement, public awareness matters, he said, noting that many people still do not know how to report such offences. Mr Yip added: 'Today, reporting to HSA relies on a weekday office line (it is on their website). A suggestion would be for 24/7 hotlines, online reporting or even integration with the OneService app. 'We also need to reach young people where it matters – on the platforms where syndicates target them, like Telegram and social media. 'Community education, peer-led interventions and even celebrity-driven cautionary campaigns could help shift perceptions.' Mr Yip said that as a father of five young children, he has got 'skin in the game'. '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. Zaihan Mohamed Yusof is senior crime correspondent at The Straits Times. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
Straits Times
6 hours ago
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Japan's Emperor Emeritus Akihito, 91, hospitalised for new heart treatment
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Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
Italy's abortion taboos challenged by new law in Sicily
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: People demonstrate outside the Ministry of Health to demand the right to free, safe and free abortion as Non Una di Meno (Not One Less) movement and feminist collectives take part in a protest to mark the International Safe Abortion Day, in Rome, Italy September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo CATANIA, Italy - Monia, a Sicilian woman in her early forties, was overjoyed when she discovered in October 2022 she was expecting her first child. Her doctor, however, recommended a genetic test due to her age, and the result was one no parent wants to receive. The foetus had a genetic syndrome. Monia, who declined to give her surname, asked her gynaecologist what she could do. "Nothing. You don't want to terminate, do you?" the doctor asked her, she said. He was a conscientious objector, Monia said, one of hundreds on the southern Italian island. More than 80% of gynaecologists in Sicily refuse to perform abortions for moral or religious reasons, according to the latest health ministry data, which dates to 2022, even though the procedure has been a legal right for women in Italy since 1978. To address that situation, in late May Sicily's regional council - run by a centre-right coalition - passed a law in a secret ballot requiring all public hospitals to create dedicated abortion wards and to hire staff willing to provide the service. Under the national rules, abortion is permitted within the first 90 days of a pregnancy, or later if there are risks to the mother's health or foetal abnormalities. The latter circumstance applied to Monia, who went to the Sant'Antonio Abate hospital in the city of Trapani, in western Sicily, to terminate her pregnancy. "All the gynaecologists were objectors," she said. "An obstetrician gave me a bed with only a mattress cover and said they would administer a pill every three hours until I went into labour." She was told she would receive no further assistance. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore to train more aviation and maritime officials from around the world Business Singapore's economy sees surprise expansion in Q2 despite US tariff uncertainty: Advance estimate Singapore Same person, but different S'porean Chinese names? How have such naming practices evolved? Singapore Jail for woman who opened bank accounts that received over $640m including scam proceeds Business From wellness zone to neurodivergent room: How companies are creating inviting, inclusive offices Singapore Swift action needed to stop vaping's slide from health risk to drug epidemic Singapore Govt will continue to support families, including growing group of seniors: PM Wong at PCF Family Day Singapore Art by Pathlight students to be displayed along Singapore River Her story is far from unique in southern Italy, where cultural traditions are more conservative than in the Catholic country's richer north and centre. At first, Monia's pills were ineffective, but after five days and a change of treatment she finally miscarried, attended to by a doctor and a midwife. Hospital staff referred to her as "Article 6," she said, after the provision in the law that allows abortions beyond 90 days. In response to a request for comment, the Sant'Antonio Abate hospital said it was sorry for Monia's "difficult experience". However, the hospital said it was unable to verify the facts because both the hospital manager and the head of the gynaecology department at that time had left. The hospital said it now has three non-objecting doctors and was able to provide abortion services. Abortions are only available in around half of Sicily's hospitals, health ministry data shows, a figure much lower than in central and northern Italy, where rates are around 70%. Like most of his colleagues, Fabio Guardala, a 60-year-old doctor, refuses to perform abortions. He operates at the Cannizzaro hospital in the Sicilian city of Catania, on the east coast of the island. "A doctor's job is to heal," said Guardala, who is also deputy head of a healthcare unit at his local Catholic church. "Abortion is not treatment but killing. Nobody can force a doctor to kill." Silvia Vaccari, president of the Italian federation of midwives, FNOPO, said health outcomes can be grim in areas where legal abortions are hard to access. "The absence of facilities sometimes leads people to turn to non-professionals, putting them at risk of death, or to continue with pregnancies and give birth to babies who are abandoned in places where they may never be found alive," she said. CATHOLIC INFLUENCE Most other European Union countries allow health workers to refuse to perform abortions on ethical grounds, according to a 2022 study published in the Acta Biomedica journal. But the right is generally exercised far less commonly than in southern Italy. One exception is deeply Catholic Poland, where abortion is only legal in cases of rape or incest or when a woman's health or life is at risk. The Acta study said many Polish women have been forced to travel abroad to terminate their pregnancies. Abortion has always been contentious in Italy, a Catholic country that hosts the Vatican. Right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni passed legislation last year to try to deter women from terminating pregnancies. Pro-life groups have been allowed into abortion advice clinics, in a move Meloni's party said was aimed at giving women an opportunity for reflection before making a final decision. Nationally, the number of abortions dropped to 65,000 in 2022, according to the latest health ministry data, against 110,000 in 2011. More than 60% of gynaecologists are conscientious objectors. On the island of Sardinia, the region's ruling, left-leaning 5-Star Movement last month presented a law proposal similar to the one adopted in Sicily, suggesting that other southern regions may soon follow its example. Dario Safina, a centre-left Democratic Party lawmaker in Sicily and the promoter of the new law, said many Sicilian women seeking an abortion feel forced to resort to the private sector. "Access to abortion is not a problem for those who can afford it, because they can go to a private clinic. But healthcare based on wealth is the end of democracy," he said. Some doctors argue Sicily's high objection rates are not only due to ethics but also to staff shortages and poor working conditions that make it harder for gynaecologists to provide abortions on top of their regular duties. Data from the GIMBE Foundation, a health sector think-tank, shows Sicily had nine healthcare workers per 1,000 residents in 2022, compared with a national average of 11.6 and far below the northern and central Emilia Romagna and Tuscany regions with 15. "Hospitals always try to exploit doctors' work without paying them properly, so sometimes professionals are reluctant to perform abortions," said Salvatore Incandela, head of the Sicilian arm of AOGOI, Italy's gynaecologists' association. Italian anti-abortion group Pro-Life Together rejects this, saying non-objectors in Sicily were only required to perform 1.5 abortions a week on average in 2022 - still above a national average of 0.9. LEGAL CHALLENGES? Six Sicilian hospital managers and health professionals contacted by Reuters said the new legislation could strengthen the service, but it was still important to ensure doctors could opt out as allowed under 1978 national law that sanctioned the right to abortion. Under the law, health workers are exempted from abortion procedures if they declare an ethical or religious objection, so long as the woman's life is not in immediate danger. Gaetano Sirna, the director general of Catania's Policlinico-San Marco hospital, one of the city's largest, said even with just six non-objecting gynaecologists out of a total of 39, he could still ensure abortions for those who needed them. "We have no problems guaranteeing the availability (of doctors) ... gynaecologists are free to declare themselves as objectors; we do not discriminate," he told Reuters. Abortion is not the only case in which conscientious objection is permitted in Italy. It used to be grounds for avoiding compulsory military service, which was abolished in the early 2000s, and an opt-out for scientists from conducting animal experiments was introduced in the early 1990s. Giorgia Landolfo, a pro-abortion activist in Catania, called the new law in Sicily a "landmark," but said she feared it would be hard to enforce. Some anti-abortion groups say it will be challenged in court on the ground that job postings reserved for non-objectors discriminate against the others. "Many measures in the past aimed at hiring non-objectors have been challenged and ultimately came to nothing," said Vito Trojano, the head of SIGO, the Italian Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society. Some Sicilian politicians who strongly oppose the new rules believe the region should instead bolster its healthcare and support facilities for pregnant women, who often feel abandoned and see no alternative to abortion. "Life is life from the moment of conception," said Margherita La Rocca, a Sicilian lawmaker from the centre-right Forza Italia party. "The foetus cannot just be considered a clump of cells when it's convenient." REUTERS
