Kpods, zombie oil or etomidate? A new name may help Hong Kong curb its youth drug crisis
A banner warning against the dangers of etomidate, a new recreational drug, near a drug rehabilitation and counselling centre in Sham Shui Po.
HONG KONG – A name can shape perceptions and Hong Kong is finding that a drug with an innocuous name is causing ripples of harm across society.
It is for this reason that the government officially changed the name of
the city's latest-trending recreational drug for the second time in 2025.
In Singapore, these drugs are known as Kpods – fruity flavoured vape capsules laced with addictive sedatives like etomidate, a controlled anaesthetic.
In Hong Kong, it was first marketed by drug peddlers as 'space oil', a substance that emerged in the city some time in late 2023, promising its users a euphoric high that would 'take them to space'.
The government banned it and started referring to it as 'space oil drug' in February, after the authorities recognised the severity of the problem when several addicts died from abusing the drug and children as young as nine years old were found taking the substance.
On July 31, the government renamed it yet again – to plain old 'etomidate' – evidently deciding to call a spade a spade this time.
'Previously when we called it 'space oil drug', some drug traffickers made use of the name to promote a sort of fantasy and some of the positive feelings after taking the drug,' Secretary for Security Chris Tang told the media as he announced the name change.
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'We have to properly name it as 'etomidate' so as to eradicate the positive sides of the old name of the drug. This drug will cause only harm.'
The security chief's words marked Hong Kong's hardening of its narrative against the banned substance, as the government doubles down on efforts to convey the dangers of the drug to the public – in particular, the youth.
Mr Tang implored the media to use the new name in reports on the drug.
The name change was aimed at 'directly addressing etomidate's nature as a drug, just like marijuana and cocaine', he said.
It was also to prevent the name 'space oil' from being used to 'deliberately glorify drugs containing etomidate, deceiving young people into taking them and causing them to ignore the serious harm they cause to their bodies', he added.
The move to reframe characteristics associated with the drug came weeks after Mr Tang initially suggested renaming it 'zombie oil' to better reflect its effect on users.
But that was vetoed after lawmakers raised concerns that the city's impressionable youth might find the term appealing as well and continue to be lured to abuse it.
Hong Kong's abusers of the drug have been overwhelmingly young, with more than two-thirds of them aged under 21. Among young drug abusers, it is now the third most popular narcotic after cannabis and cocaine.
The number of etomidate abusers recorded in the first half of 2025, at 327, has already exceeded the total of 300 for the whole of 2024. The actual number is likely much higher.
Side effects of abusing the substance include a loss of control over one's body that results in a zombie-like gait, tremors, convulsions, memory loss, blackouts and even death.
The security chief attempted to tap young people's social fears and body image concerns by stressing that additional side effects include drooling, hair loss, facial hair growth in young women, or skin and genital ulcers and deformities.
Etomidate abusers, when high, often also engage in undignified and indecent self-harming behaviour in public that can be easily recorded and posted online, he warned.
'Taking etomidate is definitely not cool; knowing how to resist drugs is the way to be cool,' Mr Tang said.
Those found consuming or in possession of etomidate face up to seven years' jail and a HK$1 million (S$164,000) fine. Traffickers and manufacturers face life in jail and a HK$5 million fine.
The government has even roped in Cantopop star Aaron Kwok as its honorary narcotics commissioner to urge young people in Hong Kong to reject drugs.
Kwok appeared at a publicity campaign on Aug 3, introducing new dance moves and chanting anti-drug slogans with dozens of youth ambassadors, who will help spread awareness of the dangers of etomidate at their schools.
Lawmaker Dennis Lam welcomed the scrapping of the term 'space oil', which he described as 'inappropriately romantic'.
Dropping the suggestion to rename it 'zombie oil' was also a wise choice, Dr Lam told local media, adding that the term might have sparked further curiosity among rebellious teens to try the substance.
'Simply calling the drug by its main chemical component will help clear misconceptions of the substance, increase awareness of its dangers, and avoid further romanticising it,' the ophthalmologist said.
Quoting a common Cantonese proverbial phrase, he said: 'I'm more afraid of being given a poor name than being born into misfortune. A name can hold great power and influence.'
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