Teenager caught trying to sell vape to 13-year-old boy at Toa Payoh playground

SINGAPORE: An 18-year-old was nabbed on Monday (Nov 27) by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) while trying to sell an e-vaporiser to a 13-year-old boy.

The authority received a tip-off that the 18-year-old had been seen selling vapes at a playground in Toa Payoh.

After he was apprehended, HSA officers searched his residence in Toa Payoh and found more than 700 vapes and related components, with an estimated street value of S$15,400 (US$11,500).

The products were seized and the teenager is assisting HSA in investigations.

"HSA will not hesitate to take stern enforcement actions on those who conduct illegal activities such as the peddling of prohibited e-vaporisers to members of the public, especially to youths and students," said the authority.

It is illegal to import, distribute or sell vapes and related components. First-time offenders can be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both. Repeat offenders may face double the penalties.

Those who possess, use or buy vapes may also be fined up to S$2,000.

A man was fined S$13,700 in November after hundreds of vapes and pods were found at his workplace at a Harvey Norman outlet in West Mall shopping centre.

The man was arrested in January after HSA officers received a tip-off about the sale of vapes to students in the area.

Last year, 800 students from schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) were caught vaping and referred to HSA, said Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman in October.

Vaping is likely an underdetected problem among students, he added.

The number of people caught vaping and possessing vapes is on the rise. A total of 4,916 people were caught for the offence in 2022, compared with 4,697 in the previous year and 1,266 in 2020, according to HSA figures.