Vape peddlers are now pushing devices with Bluetooth connectivity and digital screens to entice the young to buy them as keepsakes.<\/p>\n
Some of these vapes can even function as phones.<\/p>\n
The Straits Times has also found that despite a clampdown, which has seen dozens of people arrested and scores of vapes and their components seized, sellers are still claiming that they have \u201cready stock\u201d in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Mr Salim, who has a son in Primary 4, said: \u201cWe parents are just learning about the dangers of vapes, and reminding our children how harmful these can be to their development.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us are still finding it hard to tell the difference between a vape and stationery items, and now you have these new devices which are meant to look cool to the young,\u201d added the 41-year-old, who did not want to be identified by his full name.<\/p>\n
These new devices are harder to spot because they do not resemble traditional vapes. Some \u201csmart\u201d models are designed to look like and can be mistaken for everyday items, such as mobile phones.<\/p>\n
Checks by ST showed that the Bluetooth-enabled devices, which can double as gaming machines or music players, typically sell for $90, compared with regular vapes that used to be sold on platforms like Telegram for between $16 and $30.<\/p>\n The Bluetooth-enabled devices can double as gaming machines or music players.<\/p>\n Photo: Michelle Ng<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Some of these peddlers are also trying to allay health concerns by claiming that the smart vape devices allow users to control their nicotine hit through a touchscreen.<\/p>\n Experts in Britain, where vaping is not banned but regulated, are concerned that the new devices are targeting children.<\/p>\n In a British Medical Journal forum post\u00a0in 2025, medical specialists Artur Galimov, Liam Obaid and Jennifer B. Unger warned that manufacturers are enticing the young with the \u201cintegration of smartphone-like designs and functionalities into vaping devices\u201d.<\/p>\n Professor Unger, who teaches at the University of Southern California\u00a0Keck School of Medicine, said the devices are combining three things that are highly reinforcing: nicotine, video games and sweet flavours. \u201cAnd they are being packaged in a way that makes them feel safe, fun and even nostalgic.\u201d<\/p>\n She told the Daily Express in the US: \u201cWhen a vape looks like a toy and rewards you for using it, it is not just a product \u2013 it is a behavioural trap.\u201d<\/p>\n In the US, the Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings to retailers and manufacturers of devices that resemble smart technology devices.<\/p>\n Vape producers based in Shenzhen, China, where most of the world\u2019s vapes are manufactured, say they have been adjusting their devices to meet market demand.<\/p>\n They now produce vapes that resemble the Game Boy, a device popular in the 1980s, or which have smart tools that give users access to Facebook, WhatsApp, X and Instagram in between puffs.<\/p>\n The new vapes are exported to countries such as the US, Vietnam and Malaysia, the main source of vapes in Singapore.<\/p>\n Prof Unger warned: \u201cA conventional vape just delivers nicotine. These newer devices add in gaming elements \u2013 sometimes with full-on video games \u2013 that reward the user with points or prizes every time they take a puff.\u201d<\/p>\n Online, sellers are aggressively pushing their products with offers of discounts for bulk buys and free delivery to any address in Singapore.<\/p>\n They are also trying to appeal to an even younger crowd. One peddler had devices that resemble a child\u2019s building blocks, the seller said.<\/p>\n Another features a cartoon character from a popular movie, while others are promoted with photos of skateboards and bicycles in the background.<\/p>\n They are also pushing a variety of fruity flavours, and modern e-vaporisers mimic soft-drink bottles, highlighters and glue sticks.<\/p>\n In Singapore, enhanced penalties for those caught possessing, using or buying vapes kicked in on Sept 1, 2025.<\/p>\n Those caught vaping, which was outlawed in Singapore in February 2018, will face\u00a0increased fines of $500 if they are below the age of 18, and $700 if they are adults, up from the previous $300 and $500, respectively. The changes also require recalcitrant users to undergo rehabilitation.<\/p>\n Despite the tougher penalties, the\u00a0Ministry of Health\u00a0and the\u00a0Health Sciences Authority (HSA)\u00a0said in a joint statement on\u00a0Dec 18\u00a0that 2,710 people\u00a0were caught and fined between September and November 2025 for vaping offences, including 257 people\u00a0nabbed while in possession of vapes containing\u00a0etomidate.<\/p>\n HSA has been targeting the online sphere as well\u00a0to tackle the scourge.<\/p>\n From Sept 1 to Nov 30, 2025, it removed more than 830 online vape-related listings,\u00a0websites and Telegram groups, and took\u00a0action against 15 people who put up posts on social media showing themselves vaping or posing with vapes.<\/p>\n Vape producers say they have been adjusting their devices to meet market demand.<\/p>\n Photo: ST Reader<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ST has found that one public chat group on Telegram continues to sell vapes in Singapore.<\/p>\n At least nine others, which had placed close to 50,000 online advertisements on Telegram groups\u00a0since 2022,\u00a0have been shut down.<\/p>\n Although ST found more than 10 vape websites with \u201cSG\u201d in their URLs, these websites are registered in places like Lithuania, Canada, Iceland and Malaysia.<\/p>\n Dr Samer Elhajjar,\u00a0a senior lecturer at the Department of Marketing\u00a0in NUS Business School, said it is harder to block access to overseas-based sites and platforms.<\/p>\n \u201cDifferent countries have varying regulations regarding the advertising and promotion of vaping products, making it difficult for platforms to\u00a0ensure compliance\u00a0across all jurisdictions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said an influencer\u00a0posting a vape advertisement that complies\u00a0with regulations in his country may inadvertently reach audiences in other countries where such advertising is prohibited, like Singapore.<\/p>\n \u201cThis complexity arises due to the global nature of social media platforms and the difficulty in tracking down advertisers who may operate from different countries.<\/p>\n \u201cAdditionally, there is a delicate balance between content removal and freedom of expression\u00a0(in those jurisdictions),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n In October 2024, a Malaysian website said to be selling vapes that looked like highlighters, and which could be delivered to Singapore, was no longer up when ST checked.<\/p>\n A spokeswoman for HSA said\u00a0the agency\u00a0had worked with the\u00a0Infocomm Media Development Authority\u00a0to block Singapore residents\u2019 access to the Malaysia-based website.<\/p>\n \u201cHSA is aware of overseas reports of the trend where users modify the look of their e-vaporisers to resemble everyday stationery items,\u201d the spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are watching out for such e-vaporisers in our surveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n Anti-Vape Poster<\/p>\n Photo: Straits Times<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Note: <\/i><\/b>This article was written by Zaihan Mohamed Yusof and first appeared in The Straits Times on 05 January 2026.<\/i><\/p>\n Source: The Straits Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\nClampdown continues<\/h2>\n