Singapore Deports Foreigners, Arrests Thousands in E-Cigarette Crackdown

Key points:

1.From January 2024 to March 2025, over 17,900 individuals in Singapore have been arrested for possessing and using e-cigarettes.

2.During this period, authorities confiscated e-cigarettes and related accessories worth over $31.65 million.

3.Individuals selling e-cigarettes face severe penalties, including imprisonment and fines.

According to a recent report by Bernama, more than 17,900 individuals have been arrested in Singapore for possessing and using e-cigarettes from January 2024 to March 2025.

During this period, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in Singapore revealed that e-cigarettes and related components worth over 41 million Singapore dollars (approximately 31.65 million US dollars) were seized. HSA also charged 60 individuals, aged between 17 and 43, for participating in e-cigarette sales activities, including two main individuals involved in online transactions amounting to over 5 million Singapore dollars (about 3.86 million US dollars).

The two main suspects in the case were each sentenced to 10 months imprisonment and fined S$14,000 (approximately US$10,000) and S$16,000 (approximately US$12,000) respectively. This is the harshest punishment handed down in Singapore's e-cigarette smuggling cases to date.

In addition, one of the main suspects involved in a $6.5 million (approximately $5 million USD) e-cigarette case was arrested in October 2024, with the investigation still ongoing.

In an operation conducted at the Singapore border checkpoint, 101 individuals were arrested for carrying e-cigarettes. The statement mentioned that Singapore travelers caught bringing prohibited tobacco products into the country will face fines, and transportation companies and drivers involved in importing these products may also be prosecuted. The Ministry of Health and Health Sciences Authority have both notified that foreign nationals, once convicted, will be deported and banned from re-entering the country.

In addition, over 6,800 listings of online e-cigarettes and related components have been removed, while 15 individuals who posted pictures or videos related to e-cigarettes on social media have been identified and fined.

Under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, individuals can be fined up to $2,000 (1,541 USD) for possessing, using, or purchasing e-cigarettes. Importing, distributing, selling, or offering to sell e-cigarettes and their components is also illegal.

First-time offenders may be fined up to 10,000 Singapore dollars ($7,720), or face a maximum of six months in prison, or both. Second or subsequent offenders may be fined up to 20,000 Singapore dollars ($15,438), or face a maximum of 12 months in prison, or both.