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Vape disposal bin in Bedok half-filled in 4 days: Tan Kiat How
The bin has since been safely emptied by HSA.
Since the "Bin the Vape" initiative was launched on Jul. 25, a red e-vaporiser (vape) disposal bin has been half-filled within four days.
According to Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC Tan Kiat How, one of the bins at Heartbeat@Bedok was more than half filled by Jul. 29.
Tan shared that he was heartened to see many voluntarily coming forward to dispose of their e-vaporisers.
He added that the bin has since been safely emptied by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).
"I encourage those who have not done so to come forward to bin your e-vaporisers during this campaign period," Tan said.
Scattered across the island
The bin at Heartbeat@Bedok is just one of many located at 23 designated centres around Singapore.
Photo via HSA/website
The "Bin the Vape" initiative is meant to encourage vape users to quit before the law catches up with them and dispose of their e-vaporisers.
The disposal bin is red in colour, resembling a normal trash bin, and features posters of the initiative pasted on its front and top.
A CCTV camera is also placed towards the bin to deter theft and tampering.
The bin is locked and secured to fixtures such as pillars to ensure vapes are not retrievable once disposed of.
However, the CCTV surveillance has sparked concerns about those who disposed of their vapes being identified.
HSA assured that those who dispose of their e-vaporisers in one of the 23 designated disposal bins will not have their identities traced.
It said that it would "like to assure members of the public that the Health Sciences Authority will not be tracing the identities of any persons who had binned the e-vaporisers," Straits Times reported.
In a Facebook video, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung said the surveillance cameras at the red bins are not meant to identify those disposing of their e-vaporisers (or vapes), but instead to stop people from taking vapes out of the bin.
Clamping down
Etomidate-laced vapes, also known as kpods or "zombie vapes", have become a growing concern in Singapore following several recent cases of unnatural behaviour and deaths.The drug was found in the blood of two people involved in the fatal Punggol car crash on May 13, and is suspected to have been used by four teenagers seen acting strangely at Punggol Town Hall on Jun. 24.
On Jul. 30, Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam announced that the Ministry of Home Affairs is looking into possible new legislation to deal with etomidate and other similar substances.
The minister also said that the Ministry of Health (MOH) has asked his ministry to second officers to the HSA to assist with the supervision, treatment, and rehab of etomidate abusers.
Just a week prior, Ong noted that the MOH will be working with MHA to list etomidate as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA).
Speaking at the sidelines at the launch of edutainment web series “What Would You Do When Terror Strikes”, Shanmugam explained that listing etomidate under the MDA will allow for tougher enforcement measures.
Top photos via Tan Kiat How/Facebook
