Despite e-cigarette ban, vaping persists in Singapore

Four years after the ban on the use of electronic cigarettes in Singapore, consumption continues and appears to be spreading. The authorities are considering strengthening the repressive system and supplementing it with educational actions for young people and parents.

Like Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Taiwan and India, Singapore is among 48 countries to have banned the trade and import of e-cigarettes[1]In 2018, Singapore strengthened its legislation by also banning the purchase, use or possession of an e-cigarette, with offenders facing a fine of up to $S2,000 (€1,360). Selling vaping products can result in a fine of $S10,000 (€6,800) and six months in prison, and importing these products doubles the penalties.

These measures, record seizures of equipment and a fourfold increase in arrests for use do not seem to have slowed down the attraction of young Singaporeans to e-cigarettes. Official statistics on this phenomenon are lacking, but the Ministry of Health has declared that it is observing a "worrying trend".

The appeal of vaping seems stronger than the sanctions

By interviewing around ten vapers aged 20 to 28, the media Today highlights the motivations of these young people to vape[2] : the absence of a lingering odor, which makes vaping more discreet than smoking; a cost that has fallen and is lower than that of cigarettes, among other things because it is tax-free; the promotion of these products on social networks and their general acceptance; attractive flavors and designs, designed to appeal to young people; the difficulty of buying cigarettes before the age of 21 (legal age in Singapore), due to age checks on buyers.

Despite their severity, the sanctions do not seem to be very dissuasive and lead to attitudes of dissimulation, for the most cautious, or to more ostentatious behavior. The question of the harmfulness of electronic cigarettes is not unanimous among young vapers, but all agree to recognize that they can be harmful to health. Vaping is not, however, mentioned as a method of quitting smoking.

Fear of a gateway effect to tobacco products

The authorities, for their part, fear a gateway effect between vaping products and tobacco products, or the persistence of dual use of these products. Public health experts, for their part, point out that the long-term consequences of vaping remain poorly documented, but that they are beginning to be established on the respiratory and cardiovascular levels, as well as on that of mental health. They also point out the fact that nicotine absorption can be greater than that of traditional cigarettes, which promotes the development of an addiction, and that the aerosols of these products contain many chemical components, some of which are unknown.

Vaping enthusiasts argue that legalising e-cigarettes would make it possible to know exactly what is in e-liquids. Minors would be protected by controlling the age of purchase, which is never done on the black market. The contrast between the situation in Singapore and the British government's incentives to push smokers towards vaping convinces them that the legislation needs to be relaxed.

Singapore to tighten ban on e-cigarettes

Dr Lambert Low, a consultant on addictions for the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), believes that Singapore has taken "the right direction by reducing the smoking rate by raising the legal smoking age, banning stalls in retail outlets and introducing the standardized neutral packaging for tobacco products ». Along with other health experts, he warns that the legalisation of a toxic product is irreversible once it is granted. Mr Saktiandi, a parliamentarian from the Bishan-Toa Payoh group, considers that the ban on electronic cigarettes must be maintained, without giving in to pressure from manufacturers or the expectations of users.

In March 2023, the Department for Education, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) announced that they were working on a programme to strengthen the ban on e-cigarettes. Several parliamentarians have called for this programme to be an opportunity for inter-ministerial cooperation. In addition to enforcement actions, awareness sessions on the risks of vaping could be rolled out in schools and among parents. Consultations to help people stop vaping could also be set up.

M.F.

Keywords: Singapore, e-cigarettes, sanctions, gateway effect.

[1] Census as of November 30, 2021, to which may be added Taiwan: Glantz SA, 47 countries have banned e-cigarettes.

[2] Ong J, With vaping increasingly rampant among youths despite ban, what more can authorities do?, Today, updated April 15, 2023, accessed April 20, 2023.