Singapore's Tough Stance on Vaping: Caning and Fines Introduced

Mon Sep 15 2025 19:52:05 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a bid to combat the rising popularity of drug-laced vapes, Singaporean authorities are implementing severe penalties, including caning and hefty fines for offenders.

Singapore is intensifying its crackdown on vaping, particularly concerning the dangerous use of vapes laced with etomidate. New measures include caning, increased fines, and stricter laws against suppliers. This action comes in response to a worrying uptick in substance abuse linked to vaping among youth, posing significant public health concerns.

Singaporean authorities have announced tougher penalties for vaping as they try to crack down on the increasing use of drug-laced vapes in the country.

These include stiffer fines, longer jail terms and even caning. Foreigners may also be deported.

While Singapore was one of the first places in the world to ban vaping in 2018, the practice has persisted and in recent months the city-state has seen a rise in popularity of vapes laced with etomidate, an anaesthetic drug.

This has caused widespread alarm in the country which has some of the world's toughest drug laws.

In recent months, authorities have acknowledged the growing prevalence of etomidate-laced vapes, more popularly known as Kpods in Singapore. The nickname is short for ketamine pods and refers to how etomidate has similar effects to ketamine.

A test of a random sample of 100 seized vapes in July found that a third contained etomidate.

Videos of teenagers and young adults acting erratically in public while vaping have also gone viral on social media, sparking concern among Singaporeans who widely support the country's tough penalties on drug trafficking and use.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung stated that tougher laws were needed as vapes have become a gateway for very serious substance abuse where the devices have become delivery devices for drugs.

The government has sharpened its penalties for vaping, reclassifying etomidate as a Class C controlled drug for six months. The new rules will take effect 1 September.

Those caught vaping, even with regular devices, will face increased fines from S$500 (£288; $390) and mandatory rehabilitation. Penalties are harsher for those with etomidate-laced vapes.

Suppliers can face up to 20 years in jail and 15 strokes of the cane.

The rules extend to tourists, with signs placed throughout Changi Airport reminding visitors of the vaping ban and providing disposal bins for devices to avoid penalties.

The Singapore crackdown parallels stricter vaping regulations adopted in other countries, including a recent ban on disposable vapes in the UK and Australia.