SINGAPORE: Students caught for vaping offences for the first time may be fined up to S$2,000 (US$1,480), in line with penalties for people convicted of buying, possessing and using e-vaporisers.
This was announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in a joint press release on Tuesday (Apr 9), as authorities ramp up efforts to address a growing trend of young people vaping.
Students caught vaping were largely dealt with by the schools, which would inform the parents and confiscate the prohibited product.Schools will also take appropriate disciplinary actions such as suspension, or caning for boys, the Ministry of Education (MOE) told CNA in December.
Recalcitrant offenders may be referred to HSA, which may issue them a fine , an MOE spokesperson said at the time.
“To strengthen deterrence amongst youths against vaping, from March 2024 onwards, all offenders (including first-time offenders in schools and institutes of higher learning) who are caught for purchase, use and possession offences for e-vaporisers are referred to HSA and subjected to a fine of up to S$2,000,” MOH and HSA said on Tuesday.
In the first three months of the year, schools and institutes of higher learning (IHLs) referred about 250 cases to HSA.MOE will be notified when students are caught for vaping offences outside schools.
In October last year, Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman said 800 students from schools and IHLs were caught vaping in 2022 .Before 2020, the number of students referred to HSA for vaping offences was fewer than 50.
HSA and MOH said on Tuesday that institutes of higher learning have been reviewing sanctions, which include corrective work orders or mandatory community service.
Students from autonomous universities who are caught possessing or peddling vapes may also have their hostel privileges revoked.
Schools and IHLs will continue their regular detection and enforcement efforts through internal reporting channels and campus patrols, said HSA and MOH.
Where appropriate, HSA and autonomous universities will also carry out joint operations.
“For students who are caught vaping, in addition to the penalty imposed by HSA, schools and IHLs will continue to mete out consequences through existing disciplinary frameworks, such as suspension or caning (for boys in schools),” said the authorities.
“Students caught vaping will also be placed on cessation support programmes where counsellors will guide them through their cessation journey.”
CNA reported in December last year that some youths were starting to pick up the habit of vaping from as early as primary school, with sellers targeting younger people.
In addition to enforcement efforts, schools and IHLs are working with the Health Promotion Board (HPB) to “amplify anti-vaping messages” in educational materials and preventive programmes.
They are also raising awareness of the harms of vaping and providing cessation support for students who are caught vaping.
These programmes include QuitLine, a tele-counselling service, as well as on-site counselling by Student Health Advisors.
Besides learning about the harmful effects of smoking and vaping, they also pick up ways to quit and manage withdrawal symptoms.
Last year, about 2,350 youths took part in these programmes, of which 38 per cent have either reduced or quit smoking and/or vaping one month after counselling.
“MOE, together with HPB, has communicated to staff and students on Singapore’s firmer stance against vaping and step-up in enforcement.Parents have also been informed,” said the authorities.
Related: IN FOCUS: How schools and families are combating the problem of vaping among children 8,000 vaping-related offences in 2023, up 40% from year before INTENSIFYING ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS From Jan 1 to Mar 31, more than 2,200 people were caught for the possession and use of e-vaporisers.
For the whole of last year, Singapore authorities handled around 8,000 vaping-related offences, a 43 per cent jump from the figure of 5,600 in 2022.A total of 7,600 offences were recorded in 2021.
In the first quarter of 2024, HSA disrupted several illegal vape distribution networks, seizing more than S$7 million worth of vapes and components in total.
Joint operations were also conducted by HSA and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints and Changi Airport.
Forty vape-related cases were detected at the border in the first three months of 2024.
Ten people were caught smuggling vapes into Singapore, while 30 were found to be in possession of vapes.
One of the smugglers has been prosecuted and the rest are pending prosecution and enforcement actions, said MOH and HSA.
Between Jan 1 and Mar 31, about 1,950 people were caught for possession or use of vapes in public areas, such as the central business district, entertainment outlets and around shopping centres.
Seizure of vapes from attempted smuggling at Tuas checkpoint.(Photo: MOH, HSA) Large quantities of vapes found in record haul.
(Photo: MOH, HSA) Authorities seized large quantities of vaping products over the past year, including a record haul of 85,000 products during a warehouse raid in March 2023.
In January, authorities raided a warehouse unit at 31 Woodlands Close, where more than 81,000 vapes and related components worth a total of over S$1.1 million were seized.Five people aged 19 to 39 years old are assisting in the investigations.
In 2023, more than 3,000 e-vaporiser-related online listings were removed by the authorities, an increase from the 2,600 online listings removed the year before.
HSA and MOH have notified 16 social media services and e-commerce platforms to remind them that hosting vaping-related content is against the law.
“The onus is on social media services and e-commerce platforms to exercise due diligence and proactively remove vaping-related content.Enforcement actions may be taken against the platforms that are found with inadequate processes to detect and remove vaping-related contents,” said the authorities.
Source: CNA/cm(mi) Related Topics underage vaping vaping schools youths Advertisement Also worth reading Content is loading…Advertisement Expand to read the full story Get bite-sized news via a new
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