SINGAPORE – Hooked on Kpods, or e-vaporisers filled with etomidate, Jerome, 25, spent around $4,000 in two weeks to feed his habit, taking puffs at will.
A ride in a private-hire car in December 2025 changed all that.
En route from his grandmother’s home in Choa Chu Kang to meet a friend in Seletar, Jerome vaped in the back seat.
Despite the driver telling him to stop vaping, Jerome, who asked to be identified only by his first name, took one more puff.
The driver would have none of it.
Speaking to The Straits Times on July 30, Jerome, who works in customer service, said the driver suddenly stopped the car at a road shoulder along the PIE.
Said Jerome: “The driver said he was going to call the police to report me for vaping. I was shocked. I told him to give me a chance, and promised to throw the vape away. But he called the police anyway.”
When the officers arrived, they seized Jerome’s mixed berry-flavoured vape and a vape pod, which was laced with etomidate.
He was fined $700, and ordered to attend mandatory rehabilitation.
Tougher penalties to clamp down on vapes came into effect on Sept 1, 2025. From Sept 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, first-time etomidate abusers below 18 years old were fined $500 while adults were fined $700. They also had to attend mandatory rehabilitation for up to six months.
Penalties were tightened further on May 1, 2026, with the maximum fine for those caught vaping set at $10,000 under the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act (TVCA).
Under the Act, those convicted of using Kpods can be fined up to $20,000, jailed for up to 10 years, or both.
The TVCA also gives powers to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to order vape and Kpod users to undergo rehabilitation.
Jerome said: “I was ready to pay the fine and be done with it. But I didn’t expect needing to go for rehabilitation.
“Looking back, I’m glad I did. And I’m grateful to the driver who reported me. If not, I may still be vaping today.”
The addiction
Jerome started smoking and vaping when he was 19. He picked up Kpods in November 2025 after a drinking session with friends.
Said Jerome: “I had forgotten to bring my vape, so my friend asked me to use his. I only realised it was laced with etomidate after taking several puffs. After that, I was hooked.”
Over the next two weeks, Jerome said he spent $4,000 on different-flavoured Kpods, and even gave several to his friends.
He said: “It felt like a tranquilliser – I would just vape and go to sleep. It made me lose so much appetite that I lost 8kg during that period.”
Used in hospitals to sedate patients during medical procedures, etomidate is designed to be injected into the veins under clinical supervision and was never intended to be inhaled.
Etomidate is now considered a specified psychoactive substance under the TVCA.
The rehabilitation
Seah Kek Koon (right), senior social worker at Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities, counselled Jerome for three months.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
After getting caught vaping in the private-hire car, Jerome was sent to mandatory rehabilitation in December 2025.
He was among the 520 offenders placed on rehabilitation programmes between Sept 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026.
Kpod abusers and recalcitrant vapers who fail to attend or complete their mandatory programmes will be charged in court.
Seah Kek Koon, senior social worker at Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities, counselled Jerome for three months.
He said: “From the start, Jerome had this determination to stop vaping. So my job was to reinforce that.”
Seah said he gave Jerome practical steps to kick the habit, including pursuing his passion for cooking, and reminded him to avoid friends who may pressure him to start vaping again.
Jerome said: “I couldn’t continue vaping after realising how it would harm me.
“I also know it worries my family, so I decided to stop. I don’t want them to suffer because of me.”
