Social service agencies see rising trend of Singapore teens using drug-laced vapes

Kpods, or vape juice usually mixed with etomidate, being sold on Telegram; authorities monitoring situation

- Elaine Lee

Amirul (not his real name) was offered an e-vaporiser by his friend in September, and took a puff without thinking much about it.

On his friend's urging, the 21-year-old student took another puff, and this time, his body felt heavy and his head began to spin.

While these effects lasted only a minute, he became upset upon learning from his friend that the vape had been laced with drugs.

"I was told that the vape I took was known as a Kpod," he told The Straits Times.

Kpods - vape juice that is usually mixed with etomidate, an anaesthetic used in some non-surgical procedures - are a growing scourge in Singapore, according to some social service agencies here.

They told ST that they have seen an increase in people aged between 12 and 19 discussing and participating in this latest vape trend.

Etomidate is classified as a poison under the Poisons Act, and a licence is needed to import or sell it here.

Checks by ST showed that there were at least six groups selling Kpods on messaging app Telegram, some with hundreds of members. Some groups even offered promises to deliver the products within half an hour.

Some sellers in the Telegram groups claimed they also sell vape liquid with ketamine. Ketamine, which can be used as an anaesthetic in emergency care for pain relief or short surgical procedures, is listed as a Class A controlled drug in Singapore. It is illegal to traffic, make, import, export, possess or consume the drug.

Prices of such drug-laced vapes range from $50 to $100, according to social workers whom ST spoke to, as well as prices listed in the Telegram groups. A normal vape costs between $10 and $70.

When contacted, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said that it, along with the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), is monitoring the trend of using vapes to consume illegal substances, which has also been observed overseas.