Outcome of S’pore’s vaping policy will inform global practice, says expert in WHO journal
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 09 Oct 2025
Author: David Sun
The piece, titled "Policy Lessons From A Vaping Ban, Singapore", looked at how the Singapore Government has taken a different direction from other countries around the world.
The criminalisation of vaping in Singapore marks a turning point in global nicotine policy and should be rigorously studied, said Dr Wu Shin Ling in the latest edition of the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“Whichever path other countries choose, Singapore’s experience will influence the next decade of global tobacco and drug policy,” said the Selangor-based senior lecturer at Sunway University’s School of Psychology.
“The country’s move creates a natural experiment whose outcomes will test whether prohibition can succeed where regulation has struggled.”
Dr Wu had contributed an article for the public health journal published on Oct 1.
The journal was first published in 1948, and is among the top 15 in the field of public and environmental health.
The piece, titled “Policy Lessons From A Vaping Ban, Singapore”, looked at how the Singapore Government has taken a different direction from other countries around the world.
Dr Wu said: “The Government of Singapore has chosen a radically different path, having banned vaping since 2018.
“By classifying e-cigarettes as controlled substances, the Government removes the ambiguity that hampers other countries’ policies and sends a clear signal that vaping is unacceptable.”
Vaping has been banned here since 2018. Those caught vaping here can be prosecuted and fined up to $2,000.
In its first global estimate of e-cigarette use published on Oct 6, the WHO estimates that more than 100 million people worldwide are now vaping, including at least 86 million adults.
It said that at least 15 million people aged 13 to 15 use e-cigarettes globally, and on average, young people are nine times more likely to vape compared with adults.
Dr Etienne Krug, director of WHO’s department for health determinants, promotion and prevention, said in the report that vapes are driving a new wave of nicotine addiction.
He said: “They are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress.”
In her article, Dr Wu highlighted three broad lessons from Singapore’s stance.
The first was framing, with Singapore’s messaging being effective because it is simple and clear.
She said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had been the one to announce that vaping would be treated as a drug issue, sending a clear signal that vaping is unacceptable.
This is compared with the mixed messaging in other jurisdictions, where vapes are positioned as safer alternatives for adult smokers, creating a contradiction that weakens campaigns.
The second lesson was prevention being easier than reversal, with Dr Wu noting how Singapore had banned vaping early on.
And the third was that policies must balance trade-offs.
She said harm-reduction advocates have argued that adults should retain access to safer alternatives to cigarettes.
But Singapore’s policy prioritises youth protection over adult autonomy, leading to criticism from some, like vape advocacy groups.
Such groups have made arguments that banning vaping may also lead to illegal markets and vapers switching over to cigarettes.
But Dr Wu said protecting adolescents is a public health imperative, especially given evidence that vapes disrupt brain development and heighten risks of addiction.
She said: “Singapore’s policy prioritises youth protection over adult autonomy, a choice that will be closely scrutinised worldwide.
“This radical approach reframes the debate of whether societies should accept some adult benefits of harm reduction at the cost of youth risk, or draw a hard line against a new epidemic.”
She said researchers now have an opportunity to examine how banning vapes will shape behaviour and risk perception among the young, how adult smoking patterns may be affected, and how it may shape trust in public health authorities.
It is also left to be seen if an illicit trade emerges and how this will be managed.
Dr Wu said: “The responsibility now lies with researchers, policymakers and citizens worldwide to document, analyse and debate its effects, ensuring that future decisions are guided by principle and evidence.”
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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