Singapore Imposes Hefty Fines on E-cigarette Offenders Starting 2024
According to a report by MustShareNews on April 9th, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Health Sciences Authority (HSA) of Singapore announced at a joint press conference on Tuesday (April 9th) that starting in March 2024, individuals in Singapore caught purchasing, using, or possessing e-cigarettes will be fined, regardless of whether it is their first offense. Students found using e-cigarettes may face fines of up to $2000 Singapore dollars (approximately $1487.6 USD) in addition to disciplinary action from their respective educational institutions, and they will be required to participate in a smoking cessation support program guided by counselors.
According to the agency's statistics, in the first quarter of 2024, there were 250 cases of students caught using e-cigarettes referred to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). During the same period, over 2000 individuals were arrested for vaping e-cigarettes. Additionally, from January to March of this year, the Singapore police seized e-cigarette products worth over $7 million Singapore dollars ($5.2 million USD). The case on March 19th was the largest seizure by HSA to date, after discovering two packages of e-cigarettes in a car on St. Andrew's Road, they raided two warehouses where they found over 400,000 e-cigarette devices and components, valued at over $6 million Singapore dollars ($4.46 million USD). The Ministry of Health and HSA remind the public that under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act of 1993, it is illegal to possess, use, or purchase e-cigarettes. Offenders could face up to 6 months in jail or a fine of up to $10,000 Singapore dollars ($7,438 USD) for a first offense.
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