REMARKS BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND COORDINATING MINISTER FOR SOCIAL POLICIES AT DOORSTOP INTERVIEW ON VAPING ENFORCEMENT

Vaping, especially those that are laced with etomidate, is increasing. It is causing quite serious concern amongst agencies, including the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Health (MOH).

2.             When e-vaporisers were first introduced in Singapore, Singapore had banned them. I think it is the right decision. E-vaporisers are controlled and enforced by MOH under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sales) Act.

3.             But today, e-vaporisers are no longer just used for the delivery of nicotine. They are being used to deliver a range of substances and what we are seeing is the delivery of etomidate. That is a serious problem.

4.             Etomidate is a controlled substance under the Poisons Act. It is to be used by medical professionals as, say, anaesthetics. If you consume it like that (through vaping), it is very damaging. It can cause permanent organ failure, which means that if you consume etomidate now, you may have to live with organ failure for the rest of your life. It is a psychoactive substance, which means it can cause hallucination.

5.             We have seen some deaths – traffic accidents, as well as unnatural deaths – where etomidate was implicated and investigations are ongoing. I think there is strong suspicion that it is already causing deaths in Singapore, so it is a serious problem.

6.             Today, we seize vapes during our enforcement. We took a number of them – more than 100 – to test them randomly, and one third already have etomidate. So I think out there, out of three vapes that are being consumed, one is likely to contain etomidate.

7.             Many people have stepped forward to share their stories and concerns. The Straits Times is on a useful campaign, in my view, to raise awareness of the harmfulness of etomidate and also to urge agencies to step up actions. Many members of the public have done likewise.

8.             We have been working with MHA, and we will be stepping up enforcement in this area. What are we doing? As an interim measure, we are working with MHA to list etomidate as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA).

9.             What is the implication? Today, when MOH enforces, we use the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sales) Act and Poisons Act. This will lead to a fine. If you are a seller, you may be jailed. But if you are a user, it is a fine.

10.          But under the MDA, they will be treated no differently from those who consume hard drugs and narcotics, such as cannabis or cocaine. What does that mean? It means you will be subject to supervision. You will have to undergo mandatory rehabilitation. You may also be committed to a Drug Rehabilitation Centre. Repeat offenders will be prosecuted and subject to jail for at least a year, which is provided under the MDA. We will take a few weeks to put this into effect.

11.          In the interim, I urge those who are consuming etomidate-laced vapes to give it up now, before the law catches up to you. It is very harmful, and the time to give up is now.

12.          Why do I say we are using this as an interim measure? Because we are facing a very different situation. As I mentioned earlier, e-vaporisers started off mainly as a device for the delivery of nicotine. But today, it is a delivery device for a range of substances, from nicotine to psychoactive substances such as etomidate, to hardcore drugs that are illegal under the MDA as well. And when that is the situation, it requires a whole-of-government effort to enforce against this.

13.          It is no different from smart devices. We use them for a range of good purposes, economic as well as social. But all kinds of content are coming through our smart devices, including scams and transactions that are illegal. So it is not realistic to expect any single agency or Ministry to be enforcing against one device like that when the device is a conduit for many types of illegal activities.

14.          What is similar here, is that we are seeing e-vaporisers being used as a delivery device for a range of substances. Different agencies need to now come together. We are already seeing NParks, the National Environment Agency, Police, Health Sciences Authority, sometimes even Land Transport Authority, already enforcing against the consumption of e-vaporisers. When they catch them, the vapes come to MOH and we test them. If it is just nicotine, we will process and fine them. If it is something serious, other agencies will have to come in. In the most serious cases involving drugs, the Central Narcotics Bureau will have to come in, so it will have to be a concerted effort.

15.          There have also been suggestions that our hotline can be made more accessible, with longer hours. So from 21 July 2025, we are extending our hotline to be operational seven days a week, with extended hours from 9am to 9pm. Outside of these hours, we will set up an online reporting channel, which will be 24/7. But I should emphasise that reporting is not a constraint today. The constraint is actually the physical enforcement force that is out there. But we will do as much as we can to tackle this problem.

16.          [When asked about the situation in schools] On the situation in schools, I do not want to assume it is fine. In an earlier exercise when we tested the vapes we had seized from schools, we did not detect any etomidate. But that was a couple of months ago. In the latest, when we randomly tested vapes (seized from the public), one third has etomidate, so I will not assume that etomidate has not made their way to schools.