Another day, another blow to vapelife advocates. Three electronic cigarette vendors have just been slapped with substantial slabs of fines after being convicted in court.
Two men and a woman were busted by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for selling vaporisers on social media and e-commerce platforms — prohibited items that were sourced from overseas suppliers. 27-year-old Charles Ng Teng Pei got a $7,500 fine, 23-year-old Teo Yi Lin was fined $4,500 and 29-year-old Koh Wei Hong got hit with the biggest one — $16,500.
With #vapelife being a worldwide trend, it’s not surprising that they would stand to profit from selling them here, where it’s officially illegal. Between the three underground vendors, they sold vaporisers to 23 buyers, with Koh presumably getting slapped with the biggest fine for selling his products to two 16-year-old kids.
Despite the blanket ban on e-cigs and its paraphernalia, there’s still a huge, passionate market for them here. Vendors resort to selling them online, and that’s how they got caught — HSA apparently has a dedicated cyber-surveillance team targeting the illegal trade of vaporisers in Singapore. Since 2011, a total of 13 people have been prosecuted for selling e-cigs, with the stiffest penalty so far being a $64,500 fine.
As always, HSA listed the dangers of vaping in their press release, repeating the claim that “there is no conclusive scientific evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of vaporisers in helping smokers quit tobacco use”.
“The Ministry of Health, Health Promotion Board and HSA are concerned that e-cigarettes could potentially be a gateway to developing a smoking habit, particularly among the young.”
