When Prime Minister Lawrence Wong mentioned the dangers of kpods and vaping during the National Day Rally last month, he underscored the seriousness of the fight, and the importance the PAP government is placing on eradicating this new form of drug abuse from our society.
On the Sept 4 episode of The Daily Ketchup podcast, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung also delved into the subject.
According to Mr Ong, the devastating consequences and social costs of kpods abuse have led the MOH and MHA to act swiftly.
On July 25, the government announced that it would classify etomidate as a Class C drug. There will also be harsher sentences for vape users, including higher fines for first-timers, mandatory rehabilitation and prosecution for repeat offenders. These new laws have since come into effect on Sept 1.
Min Ong also pushed to institute a month-long ‘grace period’ during which users were encouraged to bin their vapes and quit the habit.
The majority of vape users are young people. To “throw the book at them” with the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) would “make their future a bit tough with a record”, said Mr Ong.
Mr Ong also added that, unlike hardened drug abusers, young people are more persuadable. With more public education on the harms of vapes, they will be more amenable to kicking the habit.
Naturally, those who have a financial stake in the continued use of vapes have been up in arms over Singapore’s crackdown on vapes and kpods. Under the guise of activist groups, they’re pushing so-called harm reduction instead.
The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) is one of them. It has been critical of Singapore’s new laws on vapes, giving out stark warnings that doing so will only drive the industry underground and deny smokers a safe avenue to feed their addiction.
CAPHRA also seems to be a lobby group for Philip Morris International (PMI), one of the world’s largest tobacco companies.
As Minister K Shanmugam shared during a doorstop interview, “They are proxies, essentially paid mouthpieces for the tobacco industry, which is hoping to push nicotine through vapes.”
“This is a kind of snake oil that these organisations peddle.” said Min Shanmugam. “You can see why they will support vapes. It means money. If you stop vapes, their business gets affected. It’s fair to say their primary focus is not the health of Singaporeans.”
In recent months, it has not been difficult to see the harm that etomidate is causing. Instances of violence, broken marriages, and even young lives lost because of kpods addiction have made the news.
Even when we take etomidate out of the equation, vaping causes irreversible harm to young people. The nicotine level in e-cigarettes is much higher. E-liquids, when heated, also release a higher amount of harmful chemicals that affect the lungs, heart and brain development. In fact, experts are already calling for a global ban on vapes because they are anything but harmless.
In Singapore, vapes have been banned since 2018. But given their increasing popularity among our youth, the crackdown on vapes right now is not only timely but necessary.
“Our young people are at risk. I am not about to listen to some NGO which seems to be funded by tobacco companies and get advice from them on what is good for our society and our children.
“The primary focus is the safety, security and the health of Singaporeans and Singapore,” said Mr Shanmugam.
The political will to do what’s right, and to stand firm in the face of inauthentic activist pressure, has always marked Singapore’s choices.
The crackdown on kpods and vapes continues this tradition of governance that puts the health, safety and security of Singaporeans first.
