Japan Has Enacted Emergency Legislation To Completely Ban Zombie Cigarette Cartridges: The Drug Has Turned Into A Nightclub Drug, And Alerts Have Been Sounded in Many Asian Countries.

In May this year, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan issued a new regulation, completely prohibiting the manufacture, import, sale, possession and use of "zombie cigarette cartridges".
Young people in Japan are being troubled by a new type of drug called "zombie cigarette cartridges", which prompted the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan to issue a new regulation in May this year, completely prohibiting the manufacture, import, sale, possession and use of this drug.
The main component of "zombie cigarette cartridges" is the anesthetic drug "etomidate", which was originally used for surgical anesthesia. Now it is abused in Asian nightlife, attracting widespread attention. Etomidate was originally a hospital-specific anesthetic drug, but in recent years it has been modified by criminal groups into e-cigarette liquid, disguising the illegal ingredients with a pleasant smell. In China, it is known as "space oil" in the mainland and Hong Kong, and in Singapore it is called "Kpods".
This drug is more effective when inhaled in a vapor form, and is often mixed with other drugs such as marijuana and ketamine, causing users to experience severe tremors, mood swings, confusion and even coma.
A woman in Okinawa, Japan, recalled in an interview that after inhaling e-cigarettes containing "zombie cigarette cartridges" outside a bar, she gradually lost control of her body and fell and hit her head, being sent to the hospital by an ambulance.
She described the state of the drug user as "like an insect hit by insecticide", and this "zombie cigarette cartridge" has been popular in nightclubs and bars for about a year, often being mistaken for legal "high-smoke" e-cigarettes.
The deputy minister of the Narcotics Control Department of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Oshima Shiro, said that Okinawa has recorded 4 related medical incidents, and there are also 2 cases in Mie Prefecture. He disclosed that the government is collaborating with the police, customs and other departments to launch a cross-border crackdown operation.
Etomidate is still used for medical purposes in the United States, Canada and some European countries, but its abuse in Asia has triggered a public health crisis.

Singapore listed it as a controlled item this month and prosecuted a man who held 40+ containing toxic cartridges for the first time on charges of possession. Hong Kong has classified etomidate in the "Dangerous Drugs Ordinance", and illegal possession can result in a seven-year prison sentence and a fine of 1 million Hong Kong dollars, while drug traffickers can be sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of 5 million Hong Kong dollars.
Professor Zhang Yiying, the dean of the School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, pointed out that the claim that e-cigarettes are safer than traditional cigarettes is "extremely misleading". He wrote in The Straits Times that the composition of e-cigarette liquid is difficult to identify, and young people often inhale toxic e-cigarette oil unknowingly, falling into a coma within a few minutes.
As e-cigarettes have become a new carrier of drugs, Asian countries are accelerating legislation and law enforcement to deal with this covert and rapidly spreading drug crisis. Japan's response measures mark an upgrade in regional cooperation to combat new types of drugs, and also highlight the urgency of e-cigarette regulation.