Rahayu Mahzam on discouraging use of e-vaporisers among youths in Singapore

There is a global rise in the use of e-vaporisers among youths. Marketing for e-vaporisers, including through social media and influencers, is largely targeted at youths, which contributed to its widespread usage amongst this age group. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam said this in reply to MPs' questions in Parliament on Wednesday (May 8). She added that while the Tobacco Act applies to all vaping-related content published in Singapore and by Singapore-connected persons or entities, the Internet and social media is a global ecosystem and having these domestic laws does not mean that harmful content or advertisements would not come from a foreign source or foreign influencer. She highlighted several measures that have been put in place by the Ministry of Health (MOH), including allowing enforcement action to be taken against platforms found with inadequate processes to detect and remove vaping-related content. She also said that the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has been monitoring illicit sales of e-vaporisers via social media, e-commerce and messaging platforms and carrying out operations to remove such content. HSA is also reviewing the legal penalties to strengthen the deterrence against the advertising, importation and distribution of e-vaporisers, said Ms Rahayu.