Singapore seizes 1,500 vapes in 4 days

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) detected 123 cases of travelers found in possession of e-vaporizers as well as those who voluntarily disposed of their vapes at the checkpoints, it said in a Facebook post Friday.

A person uses a vape. Photo by Unsplash/vapeclubmy

About 70% of the cases involved short-term visitors, and 30% were Singapore residents, it added.

From Sept. 1, anyone caught possessing or using vapes in Singapore will face higher fines: SGD500 (US$390) for those under 18 and SGD700 for adults.

Repeat offenders may be ordered into rehabilitation. Sellers of vapes laced with synthetic drugs face harsher penalties under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

From August 18 to 22, more than 850 vapes and related components were surrendered to ICA officers as part of enhanced efforts to detect and deter attempts to smuggle vapes into Singapore.

On August 27, a van driver was arrested at the Woodlands Checkpoint after more than 890 vapes and 6,700 related components were discovered in his van, according to Channel News Asia.

Many vapes are smuggled through the Singapore-Malaysia border.

On July 30, Malaysian Customs seized about 300,000 vapes at Port Klang, with investigators saying the haul was bound for Singapore's black market.

Between January 2024 and March 2025, the Health Sciences Authority confiscated SGD41 million worth vapes, nearly five times the total seized from 2019 to 2023.