Around 5,480 caught for using or possessing vapes in first half of year

Figure is over two-thirds that for whole of 2023; rise due to stepped-up enforcement

- Ariel Yu

Around 5,480 people were caught for possessing or using e-vaporisers in Singapore in the first half of 2024, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

The figure is more than twothirds the number of offenders caught for the whole of 2023.

The number of people caught for illegal possession or use of evaporisers totalled 7,838 in 2023, which was a sharp rise from 4,916 in 2022.

In a joint statement on Aug 1, MOH and HSA said the rise is a result of stepped-up enforcement to prevent vaping from being entrenched in the population.

The 2024 figure includes around 690 students referred to HSA by schools and institutes of higher learning, and 19 people caught at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints, Changi Airport, Singapore Cruise Centre, Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore and Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.

It was a multi-agency effort that includes the Health Promotion Board, Ministry of Education, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, National Environment Agency and National Parks Board.

MOH and HSA are also clamping down on the supply side of the problem, removing listings on social media platforms for the sale of e-vaporisers and related components, as well as raiding warehouses where these items are kept.

In collaboration with local ecommerce and social media platforms from April 1 to June 30, the HSA removed over 2,000 listings for e-vaporisers and related components.

All sales and advertisements of e-vaporisers are prohibited here.