Singapore will punish vape sellers with 15 lashes and 20 years in prison.

The Government of Singapore, a country recognized for its strict anti-drug laws, announced on Thursday that starting September 1 it will impose sentences of up to 20 years in prison and 15 lashes on those who sell vapes containing etomidate, a substance with anesthetic properties. “Vapes have become a gateway for substance abuse”, stated the city-state's Minister of Health, Ong Ye Kung, in a press release. Singapore's Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, had already announced last Monday his intention to toughen laws on the sale and use of vapes, banned in the country since 2018, specifically mentioning etomidate. “Since they are mostly young and probably ignorant, we believe they are different from hardened drug addicts, and they might be more willing to quit”, Ong added during a press conference. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) had warned in March about the growing expansion in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia of the commercialization of this substance for medical purposes, classified as a short-acting general anesthetic.

Many people, especially young people, started vaping thinking it was fine and not as harmful as tobacco, and then (...) they got into substance abuse, which is what we're seeing now with etomidateeradicating the use of vapescontainersSellers of vaporizers with etomidate will now face up to 10 years in prison and five lashes (...) For importers, the penalty is more severe: up to 20 years in prison and 15 lashestwo years in prison

Penalties for vape consumers

rehabilitationfinedpenalties will be progressively intensified