SINGAPORE — In less than two weeks since its anti-vaping campaign was launched on Nov 18, the MacPherson Youth Network has collected 42 electronic vaporisers from people who have surrendered their devices, it said on Friday (Dec 1).

This is more than 80 per cent of its target of 50 devices that it had hoped to collect during its campaign period, which will run until Jan 2 next year.

The majority of the 42 devices were collected from people around 18 years old, and two were surrendered by older adults who were not the target of the campaign, including a 65-year-old.

The anti-vaping pilot programme — titled Drop It, Stop It — is co-organised by the MacPherson Youth Network and Bilby Community Development.

Mr Ng Shi Xuan, MacPherson Youth Network’s vice-chairperson, said that through the campaign, the team hopes to appeal to young people and get them to “nip their vaping habits in the bud”.

Those who surrender their e-vaporisers will receive a S$30 gift voucher.

The MacPherson Youth Network calls itself “a team of volunteers serving the MacPherson community with a focus on youths”, while Bilby Community Development is a youth-oriented charity started in late 2019 by a small team of youth workers, counsellors and social service professionals.

Vaping is illegal in Singapore and offenders can be fined up to S$2,000. It is also illegal to import, distribute or sell such products. 

However, vaping has still caught on among users here, particularly the young. 

Last year, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) caught 4,916 people for vaping, an almost fourfold increase compared with 1,266 people in 2020. In March, more than 85,000 e-vapourisers and components were seized by the authorities.

Ms Tin Pei Ling, Member of Parliament (MP) for MacPherson constituency, said that those who surrender e-vaporisers through this campaign are promised that they would not be penalised by the authorities.

“We are very thankful that we’ve the support from agencies, such as HSA and HPB (Health Promotion Board), to agree that the penalties will not be imposed if youths voluntarily give up their vaping devices through the programme.”

Mr Ng, who is also a council member of the People’s Association Youth Movement, said that the campaign team will conduct a “thorough follow-up” with the young people who have surrendered their devices.

“Our community partner Bilby Community Development runs a drop-in centre twice a week at the MacPherson Community Club, and it has stepped forward to provide support for these youths who are trying to drop their vape.”

Support means befriending them, counselling them and journeying with them through the process of quitting, Mr Ng said.

Although the programme targeted people aged 15 to 35 years old at first, the team has since expanded this age bracket to cover those between 12 and 35 years old, based on “ground feedback that there are very, very young students picking up (vaping)”, he added.

He told TODAY that there is a “small number” of the young aged 12 to 13 who have surrendered their devices during this period.

As for the two devices from older adults, they were still collected by the campaign team.

“We will still give (the two persons) a call and check in on them to see their intent on wanting to quit vaping, but our programmes are targeted at the youth, so we won’t be able to extend that to them,” Mr Ng said.

All campaign participants would receive a “joint advisory” when they collect their gift vouchers, which could take two to four weeks to process.

Mr Ng added that the first round of vouchers were just disbursed on Friday.

The advisory is in the form of a paper pamphlet from HSA, HPB and the Ministry of Health, detailing the current legislation on possessing vapes in Singapore.

It also includes information on the phone lines to call where help is needed to quit vaping.

Mr Ng said that the authorities have been “very supportive” of the initiative, because they believe that “enforcement and softer approaches should go together, hand in hand”.

“The response has been reassuring, and we will review our scope this weekend to see if we can increase our reach.”

The team will be rolling out a list of frequently asked questions about the campaign on social media channels soon. These would address questions that young people may have about the programme such as anonymity and when the vouchers will be processed.

TRYING 'A NEW WAY' TO REACH THE YOUTH

Speaking to TODAY in a phone interview on Friday, Ms Tin said: “I’m heartened that the project has received positive response and we are on track to meeting the targets.”

She added that the intention of the project was to raise awareness about the harms vaping could bring, and to “try a new way” of encouraging young people to give it up.

Information on HealthHub, the national digital site for health services, shows that the long-term effects of vaping are still unknown given that e-vaporisers are relatively new products, but studies have shown that vaping is associated with an increased risk of developing heart and lung diseases in the short term.

These illnesses include heart attacks, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, where the lungs can get damaged or clogged with phlegm, leading to breathing difficulties.

An e-vaporiser is a handheld battery-powered gadget that works with a pod of vaping liquid that is inserted into it. The liquid comes in a variety of different flavours.

The vape turns the liquid into a mist-like, sweet-smelling substance — which contains nicotine, flavouring and other chemicals — and users who inhale the vapour also take in the nicotine and chemicals, which get into the bloodstream.

Ms Tin hopes that through the campaign, young people would be “more cognisant” of the harms that vaping could bring.

“And with the follow-up, because it’s not just about dropping (vaping), there’s also the community bit — that we will be able to strengthen the support that the community can offer to youths in leading a healthier lifestyle," she added.

“This is a ground-up initiative, in that the youths themselves are doing this for fellow youths. And so I think this is extra meaningful from this perspective.”

Mr Ng told TODAY that a team of 10 young people oversee the campaign. They comprise a mix of volunteers and full-time staff members from Bilby Community Development.

Addressing some of the scepticism about the campaign, Ms Tin said that they are “aware” of the advantages and disadvantages, but the aim was to raise awareness among the youth. 

There have been naysayers online who cautioned that the participants may give up their e-vaporiser only to get a new one after receiving the gift voucher of S$30, which is about the cost of a disposable vape.

Mr Ng said that the S$30 is not handed out as cash, but there are instead nine types of gift vouchers, tied to different merchants such as ActiveSG and Sephora, for participants to choose.

Ms Tin added: “If, through this, we are able to get youths to think a bit more about the harm that vaping can bring, I think it’s already part of the battle won. 

“We know that this is not foolproof, it’s not going to solve the problem altogether, but it is us trying to do something a little bit different, hoping to get people to think a bit more and be more cognisant of the harm that vaping can bring.”