'I thought it was April Fool's joke'

Teenager addicted to Kpods on hearing about the death of his friend, who had been using the drug-laced vape

- Andrew Wong

His first taste of a drug-laced e-vaporiser was when he was 15, after a friend introduced him to it at a party in October 2024.

They became close friends over the course of a year.

"He asked me to try this thing and I thought it was just a normal vape. But after he used it, he started acting very sluggish, like a zombie," said Joe (not his real name).

The e-vaporiser was laced with etomidate, a potent anaesthetic agent typically used in clinical practice.

In Singapore, it has become known as the main ingredient in Kpods vape juice laced with synthetic drugs and pharmaceutical products.

"I inhaled the first puff very deeply and felt very dizzy. My body also started to feel very light," Joe recalled.

He said he was not hooked immediately but later depended on the device to get over a failed romance in December 2024.

At one point, he was using one drug-laced vape every day, spending nearly $1,000 a month on his habit.

He tapped money he received during Chinese New Year and on his birthday.

Joe, who was accompanied by his parents during the interview with The Straits Times, said: "I remembered what it felt like when I used it at my friend's house the first time.