They may even start tackling illegal activities in elementary school, said Ms. Jolyn Koh, a student health counselor who advises high school students and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) to manage health issues such as weight control and smoking cessation. SINGAPORE: The number of cases of electronic vaporizers or vapes treated by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has increased „significantly” in recent years, the agency said. While they may reduce smoking because they vape, they don`t count the number of vape puffs they take, and it`s hard to tell how much nicotine the puffs contain, she said. Dr Koh also pointed out that the Republic has gradually raised the legal smoking age from 19 in 2019 to 21 in January 2021. It is illegal to sell, possess or use vaping equipment. To complement its enforcement efforts, the HSA has worked with online platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Carousell to remove illegal posts about tobacco-related products. Singaporean authorities destroyed about 6,500 seized vape products on May 31, worth an estimated SGD 1 million ($726,639), Channel News Asia reports. Among the confiscated items burned on World No Tobacco Day were 6,500 e-vaporizers, 83,500 pods and 8,000 e-liquids. Together, they weighed more than a ton. On Tuesday 31 May, illegal vaping products, valued at more than S$1 million, went up in smoke at the Tuas South incinerator as part of the agency`s enforcement efforts. The penalty for possessing and using a vape is a fine of up to S$2,000. In 2021, the HSA treated 7,593 cases of vaping, up from 2,477 cases in 2019.
Last December, New Zealand announced plans to raise the legal smoking age by one year each year and effectively ban the sale of tobacco to people born after 2008. She added that since vaping is illegal in Singapore and the products are not regulated, the ingredients listed may not be accurate. HSA, which works with the Department of Immigration and Control to crack down on vaping, noted that some illegal importers have begun to change their tactics to avoid detecting how they are hidden in lighting fixtures. About 10 percent of the nearly 500 students over the past five years referred them for smoking-related issues who used vaping, she told CNA. „With inflation and rising revenues, the tax burden will be eroded over time, and we will continue to work with the Treasury to review the tobacco tax rate,” he said. The vaping commitment covers all age groups, with high school teens also adopting this habit. Last year, more than 6,800 postings were removed. In the same year, HSA completed 33 transactions related to the sale of electronic vaporizers and related components. In Singapore, it is a criminal offence to sell, possess for sale, import or distribute electronic vaporizers and related components. Anyone found guilty is liable to a fine of up to S$10,000 and imprisonment for up to six months. Dr Koh said the cohort ban is an attractive proposition because it prevents young people from starting to smoke without placing too many restrictions on older smokers.
However, he noted that, unlike their counterparts in other countries, young people in Singapore generally do not become smokers. She added that nicotine has an impact on brain development. „Then, of course, over the years, more and more cohorts are smoke-free,” he added. They may also feel that the use of tobacco products gives them this „perceived maturity” and eventually become dependent on them. Singapore must introduce laws to punish older people who are not subject to the ban but could commit crimes by providing tobacco products to affected cohorts, he said. That contributed to a drop in smoking among young adults ages 18 to 29, from 9.8 percent in 2017 to 8.8 percent in 2020, he said. Dr Koh noted that New Zealand is promoting vaping as an alternative to smoking. One of the misconceptions students have is that vaping is a healthier substitute for smoking. Vape users also include high school teens who have the misconception that vaping is a healthier substitute for smoking, a health consultant told CNA.
He stressed that standardised packaging and improved graphic health warnings for all tobacco products sold in Singapore are needed in 2020 to reduce the attractiveness of cigarettes, but that it is still too early to assess the effectiveness of the measure. He answered several questions from MPs about New Zealand`s recently announced cohort ban and smoking discouragement. Smoking and second-hand smoke are linked to at least 11 major medical conditions, which accounted for about $180 million in health care costs in Singapore in 2019, he noted. These tobacco control measures have been successful here. Rather, the biggest challenge here is the popularity of vaping products like e-cigarettes, which are still tobacco products and harmful to users, he said. „If vaping becomes established in the younger generation, it will reverse all the progress we have made in reducing smoking and will require considerable effort over many years to reduce its use.” He added that despite Singapore`s complete ban on e-cigarettes, they have found their way into e-commerce. The most effective measure was the tobacco tax, which was last increased in 2018, Dr. Koh said. Smoking prevalence rates in Singapore continue to decline from 11.8% in 2017 to 10.1% in 2020. The agency added that it had „strictly” reviewed electronic steam smuggling and strengthened vigilance and enforcement measures.
The agency says it has stepped up vigilance and enforcement action. The reasons they start vaping or smoking may be „just for fun” because their friends use it, she added. In its most comprehensive review of vaping harms to date, published in April this year, the Australian National University`s Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health found that there is conclusive evidence that e-cigarettes cause poisoning, injury, burns and immediate inhalation toxicity. including seizures. The most common reason for vaping is to reduce smoking, Koh said. Among the confiscated items burned on World No Tobacco Day were about 6,500 e-vaporizers, 83,500 pods and 8,000 e-liquids. They weighed more than a ton. Dr Koh said Singapore was also open to exploring the smoking ban in New Zealand and would look at how it was implementing the ban, its effectiveness and how its experience might be applicable here. „The misconception that it`s healthier is. Because of all those fruity flavors, because with something fruity, beautiful and sweet, people tend to think it`s healthy or harmless,” she said. As a result, authorities will do more to enforce the current ban on the sale and possession of e-cigarettes and vaporizers here while they continue to review the tobacco tax rate, he said.
The review, funded by the federal Department of Health, prompted the Australian Council on Tobacco and Health to call for a government ban on the sale and promotion of e-cigarettes to young people. The effectiveness of a cohort ban also depends on law enforcement, Dr. Koh said. The Department of Health will look for new ways to further reduce access to tobacco products and combat vaping, especially among our youth, he said. Young people in Singapore no longer see smoking as glamorous and aware of its harms, but are attracted to the e-cigarettes they can get even if they are banned here, Chief Minister of State for Health Koh Poh Koon told Parliament on Tuesday (January 11th). Electronic vaporizers and accessories are being prepared for combustion on May 31, 2022. (Photo: Health Sciences Authority). Last year, authorities destroyed nearly 12,300 e-vaporizers, about 4,500 e-liquids and nearly 175,000 pods and components, with an estimated street value of nearly S$2 million. He said: „We need to do more to enforce the current ban to combat the tide of growing popularity and use.” It will also continue to improve its approach to tobacco control through public education, the provision of smoking cessation services, legislation and taxation, he added.
Their use also led to addiction, the researchers found. The review found that there was strong evidence that e-cigarettes increased tobacco use among non-smokers, particularly young people, while there was little evidence that nicotine e-cigarettes help smokers quit.