‘I was a Kpod addict’: Journey through addiction and back

I started smoking cigarettes at the age of 17. By the time I was 20, I was smoking about one pack a day. In 2018, I started vaping to save money.

Back then, a vape cost about the same as a pack of cigarettes, but it lasted for about a month. I eventually vaped more than I smoked because I didn’t need to leave my house to vape.

In June 2024, my cousin’s girlfriend introduced me to Kpods. She told me: “This thing is stronger than cigarettes.”

I didn’t think much of it, but when I started visiting KTVs and clubs with my cousin, he would share his Kpods with me.

At first, I used it only when I went drinking with him, but later on I started visiting the clubs without him. At the clubs, I met people who were using and selling Kpods, and began buying from them.

I started using Kpods more frequently – at home and on the way to work at the bubble tea shop.

I was chasing the high that the Kpods brought me.

While at work, I would contact my dealer on Telegram and ask him to deliver the pods to my void deck.

By August 2024, I noticed my addiction was getting worse, partly due to the stress I was facing at work. To prevent others from finding out, I quit my job.

Things started going downhill from there. I would vape up to three pods a day.

I used up my last pay cheque on Kpods, and borrowed $5,000 from licensed moneylenders and the bank to feed my habit.

Although my mother has helped me to pay off about $4,000, I am still more than $7,000 in debt, after including the interest on the loans.

On Nov 19, 2024, I almost harmed myself while I was high on Kpods.

My mother, a single parent, clung on to me as I walked towards a window in our HDB living room. I struggled with her and pushed her against the wall. The neighbours intervened and called the police. I was arrested and detained for one night.

I wasn’t thinking much during that period.

Over the next few months, I tried to stay clean, but relapsed several times. In my mind, I wanted to use Kpods, but also sober up. I thought I could have the best of both worlds.

However, from November 2024 to July 2025, I noticed that the time between each relapse was getting shorter and shorter, from four months to two months, and then one month.

On July 31, 2025, I argued with my mother about my Kpods. She locked me out of the flat, and I tried to enter through the window by climbing over the parapet. We live on a high floor. My mother called the police on me, and I was arrested a second time.

I was admitted to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for two weeks because my mother did not want me back until I kicked my addiction. While in IMH, I thought about my previous attempts to get clean. I did not have any resources and support then, and I wanted to see what rehab had to offer.

I attended the rehabilitation programme at the National Addictions Management Service (Nams), where I stayed for three weeks.

When I called my mother to tell her I wanted to go for rehab, she was overjoyed.

While in rehab, I had counselling and lessons on how to manage my addiction and emotions. In one of the memorable sessions, a counsellor asked me: “Have you had enough of this behaviour?”

His question struck me, and I told myself enough was enough. This addiction was suffocating me. I wanted my life back.

My month-long stay at IMH and Nams cost about $8,000, which was paid with MediSave and MediShield Life.

After I was discharged on Sept 3, I went to support group sessions every weekday at We Care Community Services, an addiction recovery centre.

I deleted Telegram from my phone, and cut off contact with my friends who use Kpods.

I want to earn back my mother’s trust, and be well enough to apologise to her for what I did.

Vaping/E-cigarettesDrug consumptionAddictions