Known on the street as k-pods, etomidate-laced vapes have become increasingly popular - the “k” is short for ketamine, which etomidate is said to have similar anaesthetic effects to.
Videos online show young people appearing scattered and spaced out after taking hits from the “zombie vapes”.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said, “vapes have become a gateway for very serious substance abuse”, introducing young people to harder drugs through the convenient “delivery device”.
Under the new rules, foreigners caught using k-pods may be immediately deported and banned from returning to Singapore.
Those supplying the laced vapes face 20 years’ imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane.
The spread of the drugged vapes has led to nationwide pandemonium in recent weeks, as the Singaporean government launched an intensive enforcement regime.
Authorities have been conducting random stop and search checks and implementing rigorous checks at the border in an effort to stamp out the problem.
The Straits Times reports that 184 vape importation cases were identified through sea, air, and land checkpoints between August 18 and 22.
Travellers are also being urged to dispose of the devices upon arrival into Singapore.
The city-state was one of the first places to ban vaping, back in 2018.
Notorious for its strict drug laws, Singapore penalises consumption as well as possession of illegal substances.
The death penalty is state-mandated for possession above a particular quantity - in 2025, seven people were executed for drug-related offences.
