How Drug-Laced Vapes Are Hooking Teenagers Into Addiction | Vapours Of Death | CNA Special

Key Concepts

• Harm Introduction Device: A term used to describe vapes, highlighting their role in introducing harmful substances and addiction.
• Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS): The technical term for vape devices, initially designed for nicotine delivery.
• New Psychoactive Substances (NPS): Drugs that are not controlled under international conventions but may pose a public health threat, increasingly found in vapes.
• Chemical Cocktail: A description of vaping products, emphasizing the dangerous mixture of heated flavoring, nicotine, metals, propylene glycol, and vegetable glycerin.
• Metaplasia: A disturbed cell growth in the lungs, identified as a potential precursor to cancer due to vaping.
• Cortisol Spike: An increase in stress hormone levels in the brain, triggered in young people when they cannot access their vapes, leading to mental health issues.
• Nicotine Trap & Flavor Trap: Mechanisms by which the vaping industry creates dependence through addictive nicotine and appealing flavors.
• Spice (Synthetic Cannabinoid): A dangerous synthetic drug, often found in vapes, that mimics marijuana but with considerably stronger and more unpredictable effects.
• Vape Guardian: A unique sensor technology developed to detect vaping, drug use, and smoking by monitoring air quality changes.
• Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Philippines): Legislation violated by vape products containing marijuana oil and synthetic cannabinoids.
• Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act (Philippines): A law aimed at curbing the sale, use, and marketing of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products to those under 18.
• Poisons Act 1952 (Malaysia): Amended in 2023 to allow the sale of nicotine-laced products, intended to regulate the market but with unintended consequences.
• Government Regulation No. 28 2024 (Indonesia): A regulation banning e-cigarette and tobacco product advertisements and promotions on social media.
• Narcotics Code (Thailand): Legislation under which Ketamine has been reclassified as a Category 2 controlled substance due to its misuse in e-liquids.

---

The Global Vaping Crisis: A Harm Introduction Device

The world is grappling with a severe vaping crisis, with vapes being termed a "harm introduction device" due to their increasing use as conduits for various illicit substances like THC, ketamine, mushroom extracts, and even liquid cocaine. This transformation of supply chains has led to spiraling addiction rates, particularly among young people. When unable to access vapes, youth experience a cortisol spike in their brains, leading to stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues, posing a significant risk to future generations.

The Philippines: A New Battleground in the Drug War

The Philippines, a nation engaged in a prolonged drug war, now faces drug-laced vapes as a new battleground.

• Enforcement and Operations: The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) actively busts drug syndicates, as exemplified by a raid in Manila recovering cannabis oil and marijuana-laced vapes. PDEA conducts "test buy operations" to identify sellers, followed by laboratory testing and "buy-bust operations" if positive. Vape products containing marijuana oil and synthetic cannabinoids are a direct violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
• Distribution Channels: Drug peddlers extensively use social media and messaging apps to sell these products, necessitating monitoring by intelligence services.
• Statistics and Infiltration: Since 2022, the PDEA has confiscated over $960 million USD worth of drugs, including more than 3 million electronic vapes and accessories. Thailand's legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes has inadvertently led to increased smuggling of marijuana vapes into the Philippines, prompting intensified interdiction efforts at airports, seaports, and land borders.
• Undercover Investigation: An investigation in Tarlac City revealed the online operations of sellers like "Zap," a 24-year-old who coordinates physical drop-off points with end-users via encrypted apps.
• Evolution of Vapes: Initially marketed as tobacco alternatives, vapes evolved into Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), now increasingly infused with New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), attracting new and younger users.
• User Perception and Health Impacts: A survey indicates 70% of Filipino youth believe e-cigarettes and vapes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. However, medical professionals, like those at the New Sennai MDI Hospital, describe vaping products as a "chemical cocktail" of heated flavoring, nicotine, metal, propylene glycol, and vegetable glycerin. They warn that lungs are not designed to inhale flavors, leading to conditions like metaplasia, a disturbed cell growth that is a "harbinger of cancer."
• First Vape-Related Death: The Philippines recorded its first vape-related death in May 2024—a 22-year-old basketball player who, despite being a non-smoker, used various disposable, nicotine, and flavored vapes for two years. He suffered a heart attack, respiratory failure, and consolidated pneumonia.
• Legislative Response: The government enacted the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act to curb the sale, use, and marketing of these products to individuals under 18.
• Expert Perspectives: A medical professional states, "I call dates a harm introduction device. You can just inject, put a syringe, and then put all of those illegal substances." Another highlights the industry's manipulative tactics: "Vapor and smokers are victims of the industry because they have the nicotine trap. They have the flavor trap. Then you become dependent." There's a strong call for a ban, with one individual stating, "As a vegetarian, I want these products banned because the children's brain body is developing."

Malaysia: Rehabilitation and Rising Addiction

Malaysia is also in the throes of a drug crisis, with a visible impact on rehabilitation centers like Rumor Sahabat (House of Companions).

• Case Study: Amid Hazi: Amid Hazi, 27, began vaping at 19, leading to severe mental delirium and dangerous behavioral changes. He fought through two weeks of hospital treatment and is now in a structured rehabilitation program, recovering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
• Rehabilitation Efforts: Rumor Sahabat, at full capacity with 150 residents, addresses rising addiction, partly due to synthetic drugs covertly distributed through vapes. Muhammad Shamshshire, the lead coordinator and a former resident, emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and community support in recovery: "I couldn't do it alone. But here with friends, it's possible to stop drugs. We need to learn to know ourself, our triggers, our weaknesses, our strengths. We need to learn how to forgive ourselves and forgive others."
• Statistics and Policy Challenges: Malaysia recorded over 192,000 drug users and addicts in 2024, a 32.5% increase from the previous year, with 61% aged 15-39. Despite growing public pressure for a nationwide vape ban, the government amended the Poisons Act 1952 in 2023 to allow the sale of nicotine-laced products, aiming to curb unregulated sales. However, this measure has coincided with almost 20,000 cases of students vaping in schools in 2024.
• Holistic Rehabilitation: The Rumor Sahabat program integrates bio, psychosocial, psychoeducation, and spiritual elements, starting as early as 4:15 AM. Notably, 80 out of 150 residents are diagnosed with mental illnesses, all attributed to drug use.

Indonesia: Leading Consumption and Aggressive Marketing

Indonesia leads the world in e-cigarette and vape consumption, with an estimated 6 million users in 2021. Limited tobacco control regulations have resulted in a refusal to ban vapes, making the country a prime target for drug-laced products.

• Law Enforcement Success: In June 2025, the North Sumatra Regional Police raided a liquid vape producing factory in Medan, recovering Class 1 narcotics worth $18 million USD. The factory had the capacity to produce 57,000 drug-laced cartridges.
• UNODC Perspective: Eric Van Deerine, Head of UNODC Indonesia and Malaysia, highlights that vapes often lack labels, concealing dangerous substances like derivatives of marijuana (THC, CBD), methamphetamine, ketamine, automodite, or nitines. He warns of an "explosive combination" when "extremely dangerous substances" are fed into a mainstream, widely available product promoted on social media and online, attractive to young people who are unaware of the health effects.
• Marketing Manipulation: Despite Government Regulation No. 28 2024 banning e-cigarette and tobacco product advertisements on social media, companies bypass authorities with "manipulative" strategies. Muhammad Biguanto's research shows that social media platforms often don't categorize these as ads. Promotions heavily feature young influencers (around 64% using female imagery) and market vapes as "less harmful." There's a call for the government to consider banning the product rather than just regulating it.
• Research Findings: A 2020 University of Indonesia study found 29% e-cigarette use among respondents aged 15 and above. Over 84% reported seeing e-cigarette adverts on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, with exposed participants 2.9 times more likely to use vapes.
• Parental Concerns: Nia Umar, a health champion, shared how her own daughter started vaping in college, highlighting the pervasive nature of the issue. Aggressive outdoor marketing and peer pressure, amplified by TikTok and high-profile influencers, are driving more children to vape. The sentiment is clear: "we are risking our children, our future generations with this vape," emphasizing that "communication is the key" for parents.

Global Responses and Innovative Solutions

The vaping crisis is a global issue, prompting varied responses and innovative solutions worldwide.

• United Kingdom: 20% of 11-17 year olds (an estimated 1.1 million children) have tried vaping. Research by the University of Bath revealed that up to one-quarter of vapes confiscated in secondary schools contained "Spice," a dangerous synthetic cannabinoid. Spice, often smuggled as a powder from India and China, is melted and mixed into e-liquids, posing a significant threat due to its potency, difficulty to trace, and lack of smell.
• Vape Guardian Technology: Parents Simon and Jean, concerned about the epidemic, invented Vape Guardian, an affordable sensor for schools. Unlike smoke alarms, Vape Guardian monitors 10 changes in air quality, backed by PhD research formulas, to detect vaping and drug use, sending alerts to staff. This technology is now installed in hundreds of UK schools and 14 other countries.
• Thailand's Multi-pronged Approach:
  • Enforcement: Police Colonel Bunchai Konguran leads raids, confiscating hundreds of thousands of illegal e-cigarettes and vaping instruments (e.g., 500,000 items worth $2.7 million USD). Penalties are harsh: up to 3 years jail and an $18,000 fine for sellers/smugglers, and up to 10 years prison with fines five times the goods' value for smugglers.
  • Education and Awareness: Officer Bonchai conducts awareness sessions with schoolchildren as part of Thailand's nationwide Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) campaign.
  • Public Engagement: A new law offers cash rewards to citizens for reporting e-cigarette and vape use.
  • Demographics and Marketing: A Department of Health Service Support survey found that 19-25 year olds constitute the largest group of vape users (37.62%), followed by 16-18 year olds (29.26%) and 13-15 year olds (22.39%). Social media platforms like Facebook (27.88%) and TikTok (27.6%) are major channels for vape advertisements.
  • Online Sales Curb: Thai authorities have blocked over 9,500 websites linked to online vape sales.
  • Healthcare Burden: The Satuk Hospital in Buri Ram established a "Stop Vaping Clinic" after treating the first official case of a student with lung damage due to vapes, which spurred a government ban on e-cigarettes.
  • Ketamine Reclassification: Thailand's Ministry of Public Health reclassified Ketamine as a Category 2 controlled substance under the Narcotics Code due to increasing concerns over its illegal production and misuse in e-cigarette liquids.
• International Legislative Landscape:
  • Australia: Banned recreational vaping, limiting sales to pharmacies with a doctor's prescription.
  • India: Banned all forms of electronic cigarettes and vapes in 2019.
  • Netherlands: Banned flavored vape liquids in 2023.
  • France: Enacted a ban on disposable vapes in 2025.
  • China: Banned domestic sale of flavored vapes (excluding tobacco flavor) and requires flavored vape exports to comply with destination country regulations.

Conclusion

The global vaping crisis, fueled by creative supply chains and aggressive marketing, poses an existential threat to future generations. Vapes, initially seen as alternatives, have become "harm introduction devices" for a cocktail of dangerous substances, leading to severe health consequences, mental health issues, and spiraling addiction rates. While countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, the UK, and Thailand are implementing diverse strategies—from law enforcement raids and legislative bans to rehabilitation programs, technological surveillance, and public awareness campaigns—a collective and urgent international response is imperative to prevent irreparable damage for years to come.