Student residents claim vaping culture persists at NUS, NTU and SMU hostels

Some are even reselling vaporisers which they bought in bulk from dealers

- Andrew Wong, Suzanne Chan and Dillon Loh

 

The rising use of electronic cigarettes or vaporisers has led to record hauls seized by the authorities in Singapore, but e-vaporisers continue to find a following in student hostels across the three autonomous universities here.

Students who are residing at the halls claim a vaping culture persists at dormitories operated by the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU), with some residents reselling vaporisers, or vapes, which were bought in bulk from dealers.

Zach (not his real name), 22, who is a resident of one of the NUS halls, said about four in 10 residents where he currently resides use vapes.

The 16 students The Sunday Times interviewed across the three universities cited a similar proportion of users.

Zach, who picked up vaping during his national service, said: "You just have to be smart and not flaunt your vape in the open. I don't know anyone in NUS who has been caught."

Diana (not her real name) started vaping while staying on campus in one of the NUS student halls.

The 21-year-old student, who is still a hall resident, said the privacy afforded to her within her hostel room acted as her gateway into vaping.

"A lot of my friends were vaping, so it was something I wanted to try," she said. "Vaping is so common here - I once saw another student casually vaping in the hostel's lift."

She added that "it is also very easy to keep under wraps because there are not a lot of checks".

Sharon (not her real name), who is a resident at an NTU hall, said the lack of enforcement has emboldened some students. She claimed some NTU students are also ordering vapes in bulk and reselling them to other residents.

"For about seven months, I sold these vaporisers as it was a good side income," she said.