NDR 2025: Vaping will be treated as a drug issue; much stiffer penalties to be imposed, says PM Wong
PM Lawrence Wong said much tougher actions will be taken against vaping.
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SINGAPORE - The Government will take much tougher actions against vaping and treat this as a drug issue with stiffer penalties to be imposed, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
In his National Day Rally speech on Aug 17, PM Wong said every generation worries about negative influences impacting their young people.
He said new risks will emerge and vaping is a serious concern.
Addressing the
vaping scourge for the first time, PM Wong said vaping is banned in Singapore. But people are still smuggling vapes in, and finding ways to get around the law.
He added: 'Many of these vapes are laced with addictive and harmful substances like etomidate. So the vapes themselves are just the delivery devices. The real danger is what's inside.
'Right now, it's etomidate. In future, it could be something worse – stronger or far more dangerous drugs.'
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PM Wong said much tougher actions will be taken against vaping.
Vaping has been banned since 2018. Under current laws, possessing, using or buying vapes carries a maximum fine of $2,000.
But PM Wong said imposing a fine is no longer enough.
'We will treat this as a drug issue, and impose much stiffer penalties. That means jail sentences and more severe punishments for those who sell vapes with harmful substances,' he said.
PM Wong said supervision and rehabilitation will be given to those addicted to vapes to help them quit.
'We will step up nation-wide enforcement. And we will mount a major public education drive – starting in schools and the institutes of higher learning, and also during National Service,' he said.
While the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Health will lead the efforts, this will be a robust whole-of-government exercise, said PM Wong,
'The agencies have already started, and the ministries concerned will then share more details soon,' he added.
PM Wong's comments on vaping follow The Straits Times' launch of its anti-vaping campaign on July 13 called
Vaping: The Invisible Crisis .
Since then, the government has escalated its anti-vaping measures.
On July 20, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the authorities were
working to list etomidate under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
MHA is expected to do so soon as an interim measure while MOH continues to study further legislative action.
This paves the way for
abusers and traffickers of vapes laced with etomidate, or Kpods, to be treated in the same way as those who abuse or traffic drugs with mandatory rehabilitation and jail time for repeat offenders.
Currently, etomidate is listed under the Poisons Act. Under this law, abusers face only a fine.
Etomidate is meant for use only during medical procedures. When vaped, it enters the lungs directly, potentially triggering spasms, breathing difficulties, seizures and even psychosis.
On July 30, Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said his ministry
will second its officers to HSA. Aside from enforcement, they will also help in the supervision, treatment and rehabilitation of abusers.
On Aug 13, HSA said it was
working with Hong Kong's Department of Health (DOH) to tackle vaping by exchanging information and expertise with each other.
On the same day, ST reported HSA had recently
advertised job openings for investigators specifically to crack down on Kpods. More than 800 people have since applied for the job.
And on Aug 14, MOH and HSA said
more than 100 people
were
under investigation for offences involving vapes.
The public can report vaping offences to the Tobacco Regulation Branch on 6684-2036 or 6684-2037 from 9am to 9pm daily, or online at
www.go.gov.sg/reportvape
Those who need help to quit vaping can join the Health Promotion Board's I Quit programme by calling the QuitLine on 1800-438-2000.
The authorities have said those who voluntarily seek support to quit vaping will not face any penalties for doing so.
Watch PM Wong's National Day Rally speech here:
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an hour ago
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Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gestures as U.S. President Donald Trump reacts during a meeting at the Oval Office of the White House, amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently invoked his success at resolving international conflicts, casting himself as a global peacemaker while his aides and some foreign leaders push for him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He has found Russia's war in Ukraine to be far more vexing. Trump has put himself squarely in the middle of the diplomatic attempts to bring peace but has wavered on what he's willing to do to achieve it. 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Singapore 18 persons nabbed and 82 vapes seized in HSA ops in Raffles Place and Haji Lane Singapore 3 Sengkang Green Primary pupils suspended for bullying classmate, with 1 of them caned: MOE Singapore Woman trapped between train doors: Judge rules SBS Transit '100% responsible' Singapore Religion growing in importance for Singaporeans: IPS study Life Record number of arts patrons in 2024, but overall donation dips to $45.74m Life 'Loss that's irreplaceable': Local film-makers mourn closure of Singapore indie cinema The Projector Singapore Nearly 2 years' jail, caning for man caught with at least 100 sexually explicit videos of children Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch The White House-brokered declaration falls short of a formal peace treaty that would place legally binding obligations on both sides. One snag is over whether an agreement requires Armenia to revise its constitution. The leaders also struck economic agreements with Washington that granted the U.S. development rights to a strategic transit corridor through southern Armenia. The Trump administration said this would allow for greater exports of energy. In documents released at the time, the corridor was named after Trump. CAMBODIA AND THAILAND Trump helped bring Thailand to the table for talks after long-simmering tensions with Cambodia spilled over in July into a five-day military conflict, the deadliest fighting there in over a decade. The U.S. president reached out to acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai two days after fighting erupted along a 200-km-long (125 mile) stretch of the border. Trump withheld deals on tariffs with both countries until the conflict ended. Up to that point, Bangkok had rejected third-party mediation and had not responded to offers of help from Malaysia and China, Reuters reporting showed. 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But it addresses few of the issues that have divided India and Pakistan, which have fought three major wars since their independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. Days after the ceasefire, Trump said he used the threat of cutting trade with the countries to secure the deal. India disputed that U.S. pressure led to the ceasefire and that trade was a factor. EGYPT AND ETHIOPIA Egypt and Ethiopia have a long dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo regards as a national security issue and worries will threaten its Nile River water supplies. "We're working on that one problem, but it's going to get solved," Trump said in July. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt later included Egypt and Ethiopia in a list of conflicts that "the president has now ended." It's unclear what Trump is doing on the issue. In public statements, he has largely echoed Cairo's concerns, and some of his statements have been disputed by Ethiopia. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has vowed to open the dam in September over the objections of both Sudan and Egypt. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who welcomed Trump's comments on the issue, has vowed to protect his own country's interests. SERBIA AND KOSOVO Kosovo and Serbia still have tense relations nearly five years after agreements Trump brokered with both during his first term in office to work on their economic ties. Without providing evidence, Trump said in June he "stopped" war between the countries during his first term and that "I will fix it, again," in his second. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, almost a decade after NATO bombed Serb forces to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians from the region during a 1998-1999 counter-insurgency war. But Serbia still regards Kosovo as an integral part of its territory. The countries have signed no peace deal. Kosovo's prime minister Albin Kurti has sought to extend government control over the north, where about 50,000 ethnic Serbs live, many of whom refuse to recognize Kosovo's independence. Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani said in July that "the last few weeks" Trump had prevented further escalation in the region. She did not elaborate, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denied that any escalation had been forthcoming. RUSSIA AND UKRAINE Trump, who said during the 2024 presidential campaign that he could solve the war in Ukraine in one day, has so far been unable to end the 3-1/2-year-old conflict that analysts say has left more than 1 million people dead or wounded. "I thought this was going to be one of the easier ones," Trump said on August 18. "It's actually one of the most difficult." Trump's views on how to best bring peace have swung from calling for a ceasefire to saying a deal could still be worked out while the fighting continued. He has threatened tariffs and sanctions against Putin, but then backed off them again after an Alaska summit where the two leaders appeared before backdrops that said "Pursuing Peace." Trump, who has sometimes criticized and sometimes supported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, this week said the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal. He subsequently said he had ruled out putting U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine, but the U.S. might provide air support to help end the hostilities. Europeans have worried that Trump might push Zelenskiy to accept a proposal from Putin that included significant territorial concessions by Kyiv and limited security guarantees from Washington. Despite talk of a possible meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy, there was no let-up in the fighting. Russia this week launched 270 drones and 10 missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, the largest this month. SOUTH KOREA AND NORTH KOREA Trump in June vowed to "get the conflict solved with North Korea." The U.S. president and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held three summits during Trump's 2017-2021 first term and exchanged a number of letters that Trump called "beautiful," before the unprecedented diplomatic effort broke down over U.S. demands that Kim give up his nuclear weapons. North Korea has surged ahead with more and bigger ballistic missiles, expanded its nuclear weapons facilities, and gained new support from its neighbors in the years since. In his second term Trump has acknowledged that North Korea is a "nuclear power." The White House said in June that Trump would welcome communications again with Kim. It has not responded to reports that Trump's initial efforts at communication with the North Korean leader have been ignored. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Jeffrey Epstein grand jury records to remain sealed, judge rules
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Judge Richard Berman is seen in this file photo, during a hearing, in a courtroom sketch at Federal Court in New York, U.S., August 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo NEW YORK - A U.S. judge denied on Wednesday the Justice Department's bid to unseal records from the grand jury that indicted the late financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges, saying the material paled in comparison to the trove of records the government has about the case but is not releasing. Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Richard Berman's decision came as President Donald Trump has sought to quell discontent from his conservative base of supporters over his administration's decision not to release files of the case. The judge wrote that it would be more logical for the government to directly release the vast amount of information it has collected from its investigation into Epstein than to petition the court to release the more limited grand jury materials, whose secrecy is protected by law. "The Government's 100,000 pages of Epstein files and materials dwarf the 70 odd pages of Epstein grand jury materials," Berman wrote. "The grand jury testimony is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged conduct." The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump, a Republican, had campaigned for a second term in 2024 with promises to make public Epstein-related files, and accused Democrats of covering up the truth. But in July, the Justice Department declined to release any more material from its investigation of the case and said a previously touted Epstein client list did not exist, angering Trump's supporters. Evidence seen and heard by grand juries, which operate behind closed doors to prevent interference in criminal investigations, cannot be released without a judge's approval. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 18 persons nabbed and 82 vapes seized in HSA ops in Raffles Place and Haji Lane Singapore 3 Sengkang Green Primary pupils suspended for bullying classmate, with 1 of them caned: MOE Singapore Woman trapped between train doors: Judge rules SBS Transit '100% responsible' Singapore Religion growing in importance for Singaporeans: IPS study Life Record number of arts patrons in 2024, but overall donation dips to $45.74m Life 'Loss that's irreplaceable': Local film-makers mourn closure of Singapore indie cinema The Projector Singapore Nearly 2 years' jail, caning for man caught with at least 100 sexually explicit videos of children Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch In July, Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek court approval for the release of grand jury material from Epstein's case. The grand jury that indicted Epstein heard from just one witness, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department said in a court filing in July. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty. His death in jail and his friendships with the wealthy and powerful sparked conspiracy theories that other prominent people were involved in his alleged crimes and that he was murdered. The New York City chief medical examiner determined that Epstein's death was a suicide by hanging. On Aug. 11, a different Manhattan-based judge, Paul Engelmayer, denied a similar request by the Justice Department to unseal grand jury testimony and exhibits from the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime girlfriend. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her 2021 conviction for recruiting underage girls for Epstein to abuse. Engelmayer wrote that the public would not learn anything new from the release of materials from Maxwell's grand jury because much of the evidence was made public at her monthlong trial four years ago. The grand jury testimony contained no evidence of others besides Epstein and Maxwell who had sexual contact with minors, Engelmayer wrote. Maxwell had pleaded not guilty. After losing an appeal, she has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review her case. In July, a Florida judge rejected the administration's request to unseal grand jury records from federal investigations there into Epstein in 2005 and 2007. Epstein served a 13-month sentence after pleading guilty in 2008 to a state-level prostitution charge as part of a deal now widely regarded as too lenient. REUTERS
