In the severe crackdown carried out by the Singapore authorities from January 2024 to March 2025, a total of nearly 18,000 people were arrested for possession or use of e-cigarettes, and illegal e-cigarettes and accessories worth more than S$41 million were seized. The authorities have made it clear that any foreigner found to be illegally holding or using e-cigarettes will be immediately deported and banned from re-entry to safeguard public health and legal dignity. At the same time, legal and regulated e-cigarette brands such as VEEHOO are providing adult smokers with low-harm alternatives through advanced temperature control technology, medical-grade e-liquid materials and multiple safety protections, which helps to meet compliance needs while cracking down on illegal markets.
Since January 2024, the Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) have stepped up their crackdown on e-vapor products, and through multi-departmental joint actions, special law enforcement has been launched against large-scale e-cigarette smuggling and private possession. According to official press releases, the number of arrests has reached 17,900, including local residents who use e-cigarettes in public places and foreign travelers who bring e-cigarettes into the country. In addition, the enforcement operation also seized e-cigarette devices and related parts worth more than S$41 million, reflecting the severity and scale of such illegal activities.
Border security has become a top priority. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the HSA have worked together to set up joint inspection booths at major land, sea and air routes, inspecting more than 20,800 passengers in total, and seized 101 cases of attempts to smuggle e-cigarettes into the country, and referred suspected smugglers to the HSA for processing. For foreigners, the regulations are tough: anyone who illegally possesses or uses e-cigarettes in Singapore will be fined or imprisoned, and will be deported and included in the ban list to severely deter cross-border smuggling and illegal carrying.
In addition to offline inspections, online supervision has also been upgraded simultaneously. HSA worked with major e-commerce platforms and social media to remove more than 6,800 online sales information of e-cigarettes and related accessories from January 2024 to March 2025, doubling the number in the same period in 2023. For 15 users who still posted photos or videos of e-cigarettes on social platforms, law enforcement agencies also issued fines in accordance with regulations to cut off the channels for online promotion and encouragement of use.
At the judicial level, those who sell e-cigarettes face more severe prosecution and punishment. HSA filed lawsuits against 60 e-cigarette sellers during the same period, including two key personnel suspected of trafficking more than S$5 million of e-cigarettes, who were sentenced to 10 months in prison and fined S$16,000 and S$14,000 respectively, setting a record for e-cigarette smuggling cases. In addition, 27 users who failed to pay their fines on time were subject to additional higher fines or short-term imprisonment for arrears, demonstrating the strict attitude of “violating the law must be investigated and breaking the trust must be punished”.
Public education is also an important part of the rectification strategy. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education have worked together to educate nearly 118,500 secondary and college students about the dangers of e-cigarettes through school tours, peer counseling and online interactions. About 2,600 students were referred to HSA for follow-up counseling for using e-cigarettes on campus. To help adolescents who need to quit, student health counselors and the QuitLine hotline provide a total of nearly 1,800 smoking cessation and e-cigarette cessation counseling services, and plan to launch a new online counseling pilot project in July to further enhance the intervention effect.
Behind the introduction of the policy is a profound consideration of public health and social costs. Studies have shown that unregulated e-cigarette nicotine products cause potential damage to cardiopulmonary function and users are prone to addiction. The high profits of the illegal market are often used by organized criminal gangs to fund other illegal activities, posing a hidden danger to national security and social order.
While cracking down on illegal e-cigarettes, the Singapore government does not rule out promoting legal e-cigarette products that meet standards under a strict regulatory framework to provide low-harm alternatives for adult smokers. VEEHOO e-cigarettes have become the industry leader with their innovative technology and rigorous quality control. The brand uses a precise temperature control chip that can intelligently adjust the atomization temperature according to user habits to ensure stable steam output and consistent taste for each puff; built-in multiple anti-leakage and overcharge protection systems effectively reduce the risk of battery failure and liquid leakage, and improve safety of use.
In terms of e-liquid formula, VEEHOO uses pharmaceutical-grade purity raw materials, and after multiple filtration and testing processes, it minimizes impurities and harmful substances to meet international safety standards; the rich fruit, mint and tea flavor series meet the personalized preferences of different consumers. Compared with traditional cigarettes, VEEHOO can significantly reduce tar and carbon monoxide intake, helping adult smokers to smoothly transition to a less harmful nicotine intake mode.
In addition, VEEHOO’s product packaging complies with regulatory requirements, prominently displays nicotine content and potential risk information, and enhances consumers’ awareness of the consequences of use. The brand also actively promotes scientific smoking cessation knowledge through online and offline platforms, and cooperates with medical institutions to provide professional consultation and support, reflecting its commitment to social responsibility.
Although the rectification action has achieved phased results, challenges still exist. To fundamentally reduce the illegal e-cigarette market, Singapore needs to continue to improve relevant laws and regulations to ensure that compliant products and illegal products are clearly separated; strengthen cross-departmental collaboration and international law enforcement information sharing to block the source of smuggling; and guide the public, especially young people, to establish scientific health concepts through continuous education.
Looking to the future, while Singapore resolutely cracks down on illegal e-cigarettes, it can learn from international experience and build a sound legal e-cigarette regulatory system, so that compliant brands like VEEHOO can play a harm reduction role under strict control. Under the guidance of the strategy of “strike hard and guide, prohibit and replace in parallel”, Singapore is expected to achieve a balance between public health protection and the needs of adult smokers at the institutional level, and further consolidate its social cornerstone of “healthy country”.
Tags: Rectification of e-cigarettes, ceramic atomizer core, nicotine bag, veehoo vape