2,428 caught possessing & using vapes in S'pore from Apr. 1-Jun. 30, 2026

From April 1 to June 30, 2026, 2,428 individuals in Singapore were apprehended for possessing or using vaporisers. Of these, 1,971 were frequent offenders and 457 were etomidate vaporiser offenders. This data was shared in an August 11 press release by the Ministry of Health and the Health Sciences Authority. In the second quarter of 2026, an average of 809 cases were caught each month, a 30% decrease from the 1,219 cases per month between June and August 2025 before stricter measures were implemented in September 2025.

During this period, nine individuals were charged for alleged import or supply of etomidate vaporiser pods, including six suspected members of a transnational syndicate. Over S$880,000 worth of etomidate vaporiser pods were seized from them, with sentencing still pending. Additionally, 14 people were convicted for selling etomidate vaporisers, including Byron Chua Longming who received eight months in jail for delivering vaporisers from Malaysia to Singapore customers, and Jodan Chin Wei Liang who served 16 months for attempting to sell 802 pods containing etomidate.

To prevent the smuggling of vaporisers, enforcement efforts at air, land, and sea checkpoints conducted by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, along with joint operations with the Health Sciences Authority, resulted in the detection of 19 individuals attempting to import regular vaporisers and the seizure of more than 3,900 units and related components.

Seven were prosecuted, eight are under investigation, and the rest faced fines or warnings. Notable convictions include a Malaysian lorry driver sentenced to 22 weeks in prison for attempting to bring in vaporisers and heated tobacco items worth over S$277,000, and a 22-year-old Malaysian man who was jailed for 14 weeks for trying to import 1,100 vaporisers.

To address the issue, 264 offenders participated in rehabilitation programs, with 245 successfully completing them. Cases of successful vaping cessation have been documented, such as a 15-year-old boy who completed a three-month program conducted by the Health Promotion Board and stopped vaping, and a 33-year-old man who also successfully completed the program after being caught vaping twice.

Similarly, a 39-year-old woman who had used etomidate vaporisers for the first time in September 2025 finished a four-month program at the Institute of Mental Health and is now vape-free. She credits the counsellor's advice and the practical tips provided for her progress in quitting vaping.