1 in 3 vapes here laced with etomidate; MOH working with MHA to list it as illegal drug: Ong Ye Kung
- Singapore will list etomidate under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) due to increased abuse via e-vaporisers. This comes after a third of seized vapes were found to contain the substance.
- The MDA listing will subject abusers to stricter penalties, including mandatory rehabilitation, potential jail time, and aligns with drug trafficking laws.
- Health Minister Ong Ye Kung urges users to stop immediately, highlighting deaths linked to etomidate. A government effort will counter marketing portraying vapes as harmless.
SINGAPORE – The authorities are working to list etomidate, which is being abused via e-vaporisers, under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on July 20.
This paves the way for abusers and traffickers ofKpods – vapes containing etomidate – to be treated in the same way as those who abuse or traffic drugs like nimetazepam, also known as Erimin-5, with mandatory rehabilitation and jail time for repeat offenders.
Currently, etomidate is listed under the Poisons Act. Under this law, abusers face only a fine. Sellers face possible jail time of up to two years.
But with the growing trend of vapes containing the drug, Mr Ong said it was now necessary to take stronger action.
This will be done in the coming weeks, and is an interim measure till further changes can be made to the law to tackle the vaping scourge here, Mr Ong added.
The Ministry of Health is working with the Ministry of Home Affairs to do this.
The move comes after one in three vapes recently seized here was found to contain etomidate.
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Speaking on the sidelines of the opening of a dog run in Sembawang on July 20, Mr Ong said a third of more than 100 vapes seized during enforcementoperations and tested at random were found to contain the substance.
Mr Ong said that previously, a vape would be used mainly for the delivery of nicotine.
“But today, it is a delivery device for a range of substances, from nicotine to psychoactive substances such as etomidate, to hardcore drugs that are illegal under the MDA as well,” he said.
“When that is the situation, it requires a whole-of-government effort to enforce against this.”