Singapore's Intensified Crackdown on Drug-Laced Vapes

Singapore escalates its stance on drug-laced vapes by reclassifying etomidate as a drug. Users face fines and rehabilitation, while importers risk severe penalties. With an uptick in drug-laced vapes, etomidate's dangers emphasize the need for stricter laws due by 2026.

Singapore is ramping up its approach against drug-laced vapes from September by reclassifying the anaesthetic agent etomidate from a poison to a drug, as announced by the government on Thursday.

Penalties are now harsher, with users facing fines and mandatory rehabilitation of up to six months, while importers could receive up to 15 strokes of the cane and face a maximum of 20 years in jail, a significant increase from the prior two years' maximum.

The crackdown comes after a government statement revealed that random tests of confiscated vapes in July showed one in three contained etomidate, a substance now considered a danger to users, linked to serious health effects and even unnatural deaths.

(With inputs from agencies.)