SINGAPORE – Hooked on Kpods, or e-vaporisers filled with etomidate, Jerome, 25, spent around $4,000 in two weeks to feed his habit, taking puffs at will.
A ride in a private-hire car in December 2025 changed all that.
En route from his grandmother’s home in Choa Chu Kang to meet a friend in Seletar, Jerome vaped in the back seat.
Despite the driver telling him to stop vaping, Jerome, who asked to be identified only by his first name, took one more puff.
The driver would have none of it.
Speaking to The Straits Times on July 30, Jerome, who works in customer service, said the driver suddenly stopped the car at a road shoulder along the PIE.
Said Jerome: “The driver said he was going to call the police to report me for vaping. I was shocked. I told him to give me a chance, and promised to throw the vape away. But he called the police anyway.”
When the officers arrived, they seized Jerome’s mixed berry-flavoured vape and a vape pod, which was laced with etomidate.
He was fined $700, and ordered to attend mandatory rehabilitation.
Tougher penalties to clamp down on vapes came into effect on Sept 1, 2025. From Sept 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, first-time etomidate abusers below 18 years old were fined $500 while adults were fined $700. They also had to attend mandatory rehabilitation for up to six months.
Penalties were tightened further on May 1, 2026, with the maximum fine for those caught vaping set at $10,000 under the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act (TVCA).
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