Despite e-cigarette ban, vaping persists in Singapore

Four years after Singapore banned e-cigarette use, consumption continues and appears to be spreading. Authorities are considering strengthening enforcement and supplementing it with educational initiatives for young people and parents.

Like Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Taiwan and India, Singapore is among the 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 e-cigarettes, with offenders facing a fine of up to 2,000 $S (€1,360). Selling vaping products can lead to a fine of 10,000 $S (€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 be curbing the attraction of young Singaporeans to e-cigarettes. Official statistics on this phenomenon are lacking, but the Ministry of Health has stated that it is observing a "worrying trend".

The appeal of vaping appears to be stronger than the sanctions

By interviewing around ten vapers aged 20 to 28, the media outlet 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 avoids taxes; 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 penalties appear to be of little deterrent and lead to concealment, for the most cautious, or to more ostentatious behavior. The question of the harmfulness of e-cigarettes is not unanimous among young vapers, but all agree that they can be harmful to health. Vaping, however, is not mentioned as a method for quitting smoking.

Fear of a gateway effect to tobacco products

Authorities, for their part, fear a gateway effect between vaping 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 in terms of respiratory and cardiovascular health, as well as mental health. They also point out the fact that nicotine absorption can be higher than that of traditional cigarettes, which promotes the development of addiction, and that the aerosols of these products contain numerous chemical components, some of which are unknown.

Vaping enthusiasts argue that legalizing e-cigarettes would make it possible to know the exact contents of e-liquids. Minors would be protected by age control, something that 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 by introducing the standardized neutral packaging for tobacco products »Along with other health experts, he warns that the legalization of a toxic product is irreversible once it is granted. Mr. Saktiandi, a parliamentarian from the Bishan-Toa Payoh group, believes that the ban on e-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 they were working on a program to strengthen the ban on e-cigarettes. Several parliamentarians called for this program to be an opportunity for interdepartmental cooperation. Beyond enforcement actions, awareness sessions on the risks of vaping could be rolled out in schools and for parents. Counseling sessions to help people quit vaping could also be established.

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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.