Powerful anaesthetic in electronic cigarettes: alarm in Singapore

The Health Minister warns about vaporisers illegally loaded with etomidate, found in a third of the devices seized in a raid: ‘It has already caused road accidents and unnatural deaths.’ The government is preparing to include the substance on the list of narcotics subject to strict local anti-drug legislation.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) - In Singapore, the war on illegal vaping is becoming a matter of life and death. A powerful anaesthetic, usually used in operating theatres, is being inhaled by unsuspecting consumers and is already killing people.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung sounded the alarm on Saturday after etomidate, a drug used to sedate patients during surgery, was detected in nearly a third of more than 100 electronic cigarettes seized during recent raids.

In an interview with Singapore's Straits Times, Ong said that this is no longer just about fighting nicotine addiction. It is a battle against a new and dangerous front in substance abuse, hidden behind pastel-coloured e-cigarettes and targeted advertising campaigns on social media.

Etomidate is currently listed under Singapore's Poisons Act, which carries a simple fine for those who use it. However, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, is speeding up the process to reclassify the substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act in the coming weeks.

This change will immediately raise the level of legal response: repeat offenders could face compulsory rehabilitation or prison, while traffickers will be prosecuted under the same laws that apply to sellers of Erimin-5 and methamphetamines.

‘We have recorded a number of deaths - road accidents and unnatural deaths - in which etomidate was involved,’ Ong told the Straits Times, explaining the urgency with which the issue is being addressed. Etomidate was never designed to be inhaled. It was designed to be injected intravenously by qualified professionals in controlled medical settings. When vaporised, it becomes unpredictable: it can cause seizures, respiratory failure, psychosis and sudden death.

‘Today, an e-cigarette is no longer just for nicotine,’ Ong warned. ‘It is a delivery device for psychoactive substances and hard drugs.’ E-cigarette sellers are therefore taking advantage of a legal grey area, packaging these modified devices as harmless “Kpods”.

It is not only the drug itself that is worrying, but the way it is sold. E-cigarette manufacturers have managed to make their products attractive, particularly to young people. Sleek, discreet and often flavoured with fruit or mint, these devices are promoted as a lifestyle choice – even as something harmless.

‘We are facing a mindset that has taken hold among some young people, and we must counter it,’ the minister commented. ‘I urge those who are using e-cigarettes with etomidate to stop now, before the law catches up with you. It is extremely dangerous, and it is time to say enough is enough.’

In Singapore's fight against drug abuse, the battlefield has thus shifted from dark alleys to USB-rechargeable e-cigarettes. And the victims are getting younger and younger. The city-state has very strict drug laws. The possession, consumption, production, import, export or trafficking of these and other controlled substances is illegal. Even those caught with quantities below the threshold for the death penalty can still be punished with penalties ranging from caning (up to 24 lashes) to life imprisonment.