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It’s time vaping offences had tougher consequences

At the National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong made a vital and decisive move in declaring vaping a drug issue.

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Vaping has evolved from a tobacco substitute into a sophisticated drug delivery system, says the writer.

Vaping has evolved from a tobacco substitute into a sophisticated drug delivery system, says the writer.

PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Ben Chester Cheong

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The scale of Singapore’s vaping crisis has become starkly clear in recent months.

Between January 2024 and March 2025,

more than 17,900 people were caught for possession

, while $41 million in devices seized exceeded five times the value of all confiscations from 2019 to 2023.

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