Tourist warning as country introduces 'caning and long jail sentences' for vaping

Singapore became one of the first countries to ban vaping in 2018 (Image: Getty)

Authorities in a South-east Asian country have waged a fresh war against vaping by introducing new penalties for locals and tourists - including long jail sentences and caning. Vaping was outlawed in Singapore in 2018, but usage has persisted in the years since, including a rise in the popularity of vapes laced with the anaesthetic drug etomidate. Visitors to the island country have long been warned of its strict drug laws, but fresh legislation on vaping could see them deported under measures coming into force on September 1.

The so-called 'Kpods', or ketamine pods, named for etomidate's similarities to the horse tranquilizer, have gone viral on social media in recent months and a third of a random sample of 100 seized vapes examined in July were found to contain the anaesthetic agent. "With vapes, the landscape for consumption of harmful substances has changed in a very different way," Singapore's Minister for Health, Ong Ye Kung, said in a press conference this week.

Singapore has some of the toughest drug laws in the world (Image: Getty)

"There are many young people [who] picked up vaping, thinking that it is alright and not as harmful as cigarettes, and then out of curiosity, out of coercion, of just out of ignorance, they wandered into substance abuse, which is what we are seeing now for etomidate," he added.

"Vapes [have] become a gateway for very serious substance abuse."

The Government has reclassified etomidate as a Class C controlled substance for six months and implemented tougher penalties for its supply and possession.

From next month, those caught in possession of vapes - drug-laced or not - will be slapped with fines starting at S$500 (£288) and state-mandated rehabilitation.

Suppliers of the etomidate-laced e-cigarettes could also face up to 20 years in jail and 15 strikes of the cane.

The new rules will apply to tourists and foreigners working and living in Singapore - and they could also face deportation and a ban from re-entering the country.

The Singaporean public has generally been supportive of the Government's tough approach to drug use and trafficking.

In his address, Mr Ye Kung also reiterated officials' opposition to vaping of any kind, pointing to its "very high nicotine content".