‘I can’t rely on a substance to escape’: How former vape users are rebuilding their lives

The sessions taught her to better manage stress, which in turn helped with her vaping addiction.

“I found out that I bottled my feelings up too much,” Emily said. “I would let it build and build until my breaking point.”

While Emily underwent rehabilitation through a general programme, her experience reflects some of the challenges counsellors encounter when working with vape users trying to break free from addiction. 

Ms Nicolina Ng, a counsellor at the National Addictions Management Service (NAMS), said that many participants develop greater self-awareness over the course of rehabilitation.

They become better able to identify the situations, emotions and people that trigger their cravings, while learning healthier coping strategies to manage them.

Since anti-vaping enforcement was stepped up in September last year, 520 offenders have been placed on vape rehabilitation programmes as of Mar 31, according to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

Of these, 123 have completed their rehabilitation, while 10 have reoffended.

Research shows that outcomes among participants of mandatory rehabilitation programmes can be comparable to those who engage voluntarily, provided the therapeutic approach is appropriately tailored, said Ms Eliza Yong, a senior counsellor at NAMS.

Psychoeducation, which teaches individuals about the specifics of their well-being and symptoms, plays an important role in counselling sessions, Ms Yong added.

“Many participants – particularly younger individuals – may be unaware of the physiological basis of etomidate dependence, and understanding this can reframe their experience of cravings and withdrawal as clinical phenomena rather than personal failings.”