In recent years, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has issued a regional warning that e-cigarettes containing the anesthetic ingredient etomidate have been spreading in Southeast Asia, and the youth group has become the primary target. This kind of “high-end e-cigarette” has the characteristic of quickly bringing a sense of anesthesia, and it has spread rapidly in hidden channels such as entertainment venues and social platforms, causing dual concerns about public health and youth safety. The UNODC report emphasizes that this type of product not only breaks through traditional tobacco regulation, but also carries serious social and legal risks.
Traditional drugs are usually spread in the form of powders, liquids or tablets, and the supervision is relatively complete. However, the new drug etomidate targets the e-cigarette carrier and directly adds anesthetics to the e-liquid, forming an invisible drug that is “disguised as high-end”. This type of e-cigarette vapor is colorless and odorless, and can be spread privately in places where young people gather, such as KTV, nightclubs, and parties. According to UNODC laboratory data, since 2023, such e-cigarette liquids containing etomidate have increased rapidly, including in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
Etomidate is used for short-term anesthesia in medicine, but if used in non-medical scenarios, its inhibitory effect on the central nervous system can easily lead to dizziness, nausea, slurred speech, movement disorders, and even respiratory depression, coma, and even life-threatening in severe cases. In the absence of supervision and warnings, teenagers mistakenly believe that this is “ordinary e-cigarettes + mild anesthesia”, and are more likely to try and become addicted.
Southeast Asian countries have different e-cigarette regulatory policies, ranging from complete bans to complete openness. This provides criminals with “regional arbitrage” space. According to the UNODC report, in addition to traditional drugs, synthetic cannabinoids, etomidate and its analogues in e-cigarettes are also widely found in some countries.
Taking Singapore as an example, the police have seized many “e-cigarette addiction” related incidents, and even caused family tragedies: a 19-year-old boy fell into self-harm because of smoking Kpods containing etomidate, and his mother tried to call the police for him. In other countries, such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, local teenagers are also exposed to this toxic e-cigarette on social platforms and nightclubs, but the difficulty of supervision and backward detection methods have led to the problem being covered up and not easy to find.
In addition, criminals often promote through encrypted platforms such as Telegram and Discord, and take advantage of the differences in regulations between Southeast Asian countries to sell them in a “drug is not illegal” way. The waves set off by this cross-border gray trade have brought great challenges to youth prevention and law enforcement.
In response to the abuse trend of etomidate-containing e-cigarettes in China, the Ministry of Public Security of China, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and other three departments jointly issued special rectification opinions, clearly calling out the “three strict” policy: severely cracking down on illegal production, strictly investigating the addition of drugs, and severely punishing sales and use and online dissemination channels. The Ministry of Public Security has carried out operations such as “clearing the source and cutting off the flow” and “summer special crackdown” across the country, investigating and handling thousands of vehicles, cracking down on production and sales dens, and announcing typical cases to form a strong deterrent.
Data shows that from October to August 2023, China has cracked thousands of drug-related cases involving etomidate, seized tens of thousands of abusers, and seized more than tens of thousands of cigarette cartridges. Anti-drug, campus, and community organizations in various places organize theme class meetings, exhibitions, works collection and other publicity activities to enhance the public’s awareness of drug identification and prevention.
The education department also proposed the “Five Ones” youth anti-drug education action: students visit an anti-drug museum, hold an anti-drug class meeting, produce a propaganda work, participate in a quiz competition, and watch a theme education film. This whole-society linkage method helps to closely combine education and law enforcement and build a safety line for the youth group.
In this severe situation, there are still legal e-cigarette brands committed to standardized development. As one of the well-known domestic brands, VEEHOO e-cigarettes have made many positive efforts in product responsibility, technology research and development, and user education.
First of all, VEEHOO abides by national laws and regulations and strictly distinguishes its products from “top e-cigarettes” and any illegal additives. Its self-developed cigarette cartridge production line has fully closed management, and the source of raw materials is clear and traceable, ensuring that each device contains only legal standard ingredients, and eliminating the addition of drugs such as etomidate from the source.
Secondly, VEEHOO launched an “intelligent anti-counterfeiting system”, consumers can verify the authenticity by scanning barcodes, and obtain product factory information through the App. This technology not only protects the rights and interests of users, but also improves market transparency and reduces the risk of gray circulation.
At the same time, VEEHOO incorporates a variety of health warnings and advocacy content into its products, such as age limit reminders, regular reminders, scientific smoking cessation support, etc.; cooperates with smoking hazard education platforms to show consequences warning videos to minors, and incorporates anti-drug propaganda into App services. This positive effect helps the public, especially young consumers, to establish a correct concept of smoking.
In addition, VEEHOO actively participates in the formulation of standards by industry associations, supports the mandatory implementation of e-cigarette industry norms, and promotes the overall legalization and self-discipline of the industry. This has played a demonstrative role in curbing illegal drug adulteration and enhancing brand credibility.
At the family level, parents should pay attention to their children’s social circles and entertainment venues, and remind them not to try so-called “refreshing”, “relaxing” and “pleasure” products at will. It is necessary to understand the different categories of e-cigarettes: legal and formal, containing new drugs, products of unknown origin, etc., and identify suspicious smoking utensils in a timely manner.
At the school level, drug prevention education should be carried out regularly, and professional institutions should be invited to conduct demonstration lectures, drug model displays and poisoning case analysis to improve students’ practical response capabilities.
At the community and media level, propaganda should be strengthened through posters, short videos, theme forums, etc., to expose the hazards of disguised substances such as etomidate and improve social awareness of drug identification.
At the government level, cross-border law enforcement and intelligence sharing should be strengthened; relevant agencies should be encouraged to adopt chemical testing equipment, and potential high-risk links such as entertainment venues, e-cigarette stores, and express warehouses should be checked in a timely manner; and Southeast Asian countries should be coordinated to form a regional joint defense mechanism to block the source supply chain.
Data and warnings from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reveal new threats brought about by the global combination of “drugs + e-cigarettes”. Etomidate, a medical-grade anesthetic, quickly brings users a “high” pleasure after being injected into e-cigarettes by criminals, and is particularly easy to invade young people with strong curiosity and weak identification ability.
However, as long as supervision is effective, education is in place, and industry self-discipline is strengthened, a solid defense barrier can be established. VEEHOO e-cigarettes, a regular brand that abides by the rules and has high transparency, is a positive force in the legal market: through self-discipline, technological innovation and social responsibility, they help consumers distinguish illegal products and set a benchmark for the healthy development of the industry.
Everyone has the responsibility to build a risk protection network together. On the one hand, the country and society need to strengthen law enforcement, improve detection capabilities, and carry out extensive popular science education; on the other hand, companies need to self-discipline and users should be vigilant. From schools to families, from manufacturers to regulatory authorities, everyone should work together to prevent the new anesthetic carrier of “high e-cigarettes” from breaking through the defense line of youth and ensure that young people can have a healthy and safe growth environment.
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