Singapore Bans Vapes For Transit Passengers

Intro

For context: Yes, OMAAT and Live and Let's Fly posted about this, but their context came from me letting them know about lol. I've never cared about being the first or having clicks, just trying to help travelers out...

Having been to 125 countries now, there are only two countries in the world that properly ban vapes. When I say properly, I mean actually taking them away, not just saying that they are “illegal”. Well, after India, Singapore has now taken a stricter measure, as of a few weeks ago.

I agree with this on paper, but this is going to drive down certain transit passengers once they find out…

The Details 

As of a few weeks ago, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong came out saying that those who possess vapes will face fines upwards of 500 Singapore dollars, as well as state-mandated rehabilitation. This comes after the Prime Minister said that vapes can no longer be treated as just Tobacco, and have to be enforced harder.

I think outlawing vapes is a fantastic idea. However, if you are going to do it, do it right...

Vapes have long been an issue around the world. Kids all around have gotten hooked, who knows what is inside of them, and people have fallen ill due to the toxic chemicals inside of them (many of them are fake). I’ll get into my personal take in a minute, but I fully support the outright ban of vapes. It has caused more harm than good, and there is merit to this law. 

This Is Bad For Business 

However, there is always a however, I feel like Singapore has pushed this a tiny bit too far. Singapore Airlines is partially (the majority is owned) by the Singapore government. It has become an airline that has served many transit passengers to many destinations. 

However, if they are going to ban vapes for transit passengers going forward, I don’t think they realize that it will actually take a hit in terms of who wants to transit through Singapore. Not hugely, but once this breaks, some will change their routing. As an example, 6.7% of the USA population possesses a vape, and roughly 10% of the UK population vapes. So, I have a question to ask the Singapore government: is it worth risking transit passengers based on this rule? 

Let's see if anything comes of this. I posted this up on, Reddit ,and many people were saying they would avoid transiting here. While it might not be huge numbers, I suspect that Singapore might actually rethink transit passengers. Simply because if you hold an inbound boarding pass and an outbound, this causes no harm to the country. Only upside: no downside...

Don’t get me wrong, after traveling the most extensive regions in this world, I fully respect banning vapes, but you will allow people into Singapore under “nothing to declare”, but won’t let transit passengers leave with a vape? 

My Personal Opinion 

Look, yes, I might fly 180 flights per year and go to places that some might call me ‘out of my mind’, but I do vape. I am not proud of it, but it helped me overcome a heroine addiction, a cocaine addiction, and many other drug issues I had. Is it a crutch? hell yeah. Do I only smoke in smoking zones? Most of the time, unless I am in Siberia and the bartender says, “Please vape”. 

But this is truly mind-blowing to me. Take a look at Thailand, while Thailand says “vaping” is illegal, they still allow it to an extent because they know that it will detract from tourism (just don’t do it where you are not supposed to). I get what Singapore is doing, and it will be healthy for citizens, but this isn’t smart from them…

Final Thoughts

Singapore has now officially banned vapes, and if you are transiting, I recommend throwing it away after hitting the smoking room in Changi one last time. Going forward, you will now be fined and sent to rehabilitation. While I understand the move, I think this is too far for transit passengers, and I personally encourage Singapore to take another look at this.