2,000 cases of students possessing or using vapes in 2024, up from 900 in 2023
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More students have been reported for vaping offenses in recent years due to ramped-up enforcement efforts.
PHOTO: AFP
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SINGAPORE - There were 2,000 cases of students including those from institutes of higher learning reported for possessing or using e-vaporisers in 2024.
This is up from 800 cases in 2022, and 900 cases in 2023, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Feb 26, in a written parliamentary reply in response to a question by Ms Rachel Ong (West Coast GRC).
The numbers over the past three years had risen due to a ramp-up of enforcement efforts
Fewer than 50 students including those from institutes of higher learning were referred to HSA for vaping offences before 2020, Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman had said in Parliament in 2023.
Mr Ong said that of the cases in 2024, 13 per cent involved students who had reoffended in the same year.
He said HSA and the Ministry of Health are reviewing the penalties for possession or use of e-vaporisers.
“Concurrently, the Health Promotion Board will ramp up its initiatives to educate and counsel youth and students on the benefits of a nicotine-free lifestyle, as well as vaping cessation programmes,” he added.
Under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, those caught buying, using or possessing vaping products can be fined up to $2,000.
Samuel Devaraj is a crime and court journalist at The Straits Times.
