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Illicit vape devices containing etomidate, known as “zombie vapes,” have emerged as a new threat across Asia. Photo credit: Dovpo, Pixabay.
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Drug traffickers are adding etomidate to refillable and disposable vape pods, making “zombie vapes” difficult to distinguish from conventional nicotine vapes. Photo credit: Haiber Liu, Pixabay.
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Young people are the primary target market for zombie vapes. Photo credit: Oka Bemby, Pexels.
For years, regulators across Asia focused their attention on nicotine vaping products. Today, a different threat has emerged—one that has little to do with nicotine itself.
Authorities across East and Southeast Asia have reported a sharp rise in illicit vape devices containing etomidate, a short-acting anesthetic used in hospitals. Sold under names such as K-pods, zombie vapes, space oil, and piao piao, these products have created an entirely new enforcement challenge. Unlike conventional nicotine vapes, they function as drug delivery devices, often disguising controlled substances in products that look nearly identical to ordinary disposable e-cigarettes.
The phenomenon has spread rapidly across the region since first emerging in mainland China around 2021. By 2025 and 2026, authorities had identified cases or seizures in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and other neighboring markets. Researchers now describe the trend as one of the fastest-growing examples of illicit drug innovation in Asia’s vaping landscape.
A new kind of illicit vape
Etomidate has long served as an intravenous anesthetic during medical procedures. Physicians value the drug because it acts quickly and generally produces stable cardiovascular effects during anesthesia. Outside clinical settings, however, inhaling etomidate through vapor devices can produce sedation, impaired coordination, muscle weakness, involuntary movements and, with repeated use, endocrine complications linked to adrenal suppression.
Drug traffickers discovered that adding etomidate to refillable or disposable vape pods created an easy-to-conceal recreational product. Dealers frequently market the devices with fruit flavors and colorful packaging that closely resemble conventional nicotine products. Some products contain only etomidate, while others combine it with ketamine, synthetic cannabinoids, or other psychoactive substances, making their effects even less predictable.
Because the devices appear nearly identical to ordinary nicotine vapes, neither parents nor teachers—and sometimes even police officers—can distinguish them through visual inspection alone. That similarity has become one of regulators’ biggest concerns.
Rapid spread across Southeast Asia
Chinese authorities first noticed the emergence of etomidate-laced vaping products in 2021 after tightening controls on other recreational substances. Criminal networks quickly adapted by incorporating etomidate into disposable vape devices that appealed to younger consumers.
By mid-2026, Beijing had intensified its response. Law enforcement agencies increased investigations into production networks, while regulators strengthened efforts to curb online sales and distribution aimed at teenagers. Chinese media reported growing concern that social media platforms and messaging applications had become important channels for recruitment and sales among young people.
After the products appeared in China, neighboring markets experienced similar patterns. Hong Kong became one of the earliest jurisdictions to report widespread use of space oil, prompting authorities to classify etomidate as a dangerous drug and substantially increase criminal penalties for possession and trafficking. Officials also warned that criminal groups had begun experimenting with chemical analogues designed to circumvent drug controls.
Singapore experienced perhaps the region’s most visible enforcement campaign. There, authorities refer to the products as K-pods, reflecting the ketamine-like effects users often seek. Since September 2025, Singapore has shifted from treating the issue primarily as an illegal vaping problem to treating it as a controlled-drug issue. The country now subjects offenders to much tougher penalties, mandatory medical assessment, and rehabilitation where appropriate.
Medical researchers in Singapore have also begun documenting the health effects among users. A recent case series found that many patients presented with previously unrecognized hypokalemia associated with etomidate use, even when they reported few obvious symptoms. Researchers suggested that clinicians should screen for electrolyte abnormalities and signs of adrenal dysfunction among known users.
Taiwan has taken a similar approach. Officials proposed moving etomidate into the country’s most tightly controlled narcotics category after police linked the substance to growing numbers of youth cases. Law enforcement agencies have increased raids against manufacturing sites while customs authorities have stepped up border inspections targeting illicit vape imports.
Thailand and Malaysia have also reported seizures and youth-related incidents involving drug-laced vape products, although authorities continue investigating the scale of the problem. Public health officials across Southeast Asia increasingly share intelligence as trafficking routes cross national borders.
A regional problem—not yet a global epidemic
Although Asia remains the epicenter, regulators elsewhere have started paying attention. The United Kingdom’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs reviewed evidence on etomidate misuse earlier this year after reports of increasing international availability and the emergence of chemical analogues. The review concluded that most documented recreational use still occurs in Asia but warned that international trafficking networks could expand if demand develops in other markets.
Researchers have also reported isolated detections and health alerts in Australia and New Zealand, although authorities have not documented anything approaching the scale seen in East and Southeast Asia. Current evidence suggests that Asia remains both the principal production center and the largest consumer market for these products.
Why young people?
Youth represent the primary target market for K-pods. Investigators across multiple jurisdictions report similar distribution methods: social media promotion, encrypted messaging platforms, peer-to-peer sales and products packaged to resemble ordinary flavored vape devices. Dealers often market the products using slang names that obscure their contents while emphasizing novelty rather than drug use.
That strategy creates challenges for schools and parents because many teenagers cannot distinguish between nicotine products and illicit drug vapes. Some users reportedly purchase what they believe to be conventional disposable vapes only to discover they contain controlled substances.
The resemblance also complicates enforcement. Officers frequently require laboratory testing to confirm whether a seized device contains nicotine, etomidate, or another substance entirely.
The spread of zombie vapes also highlights a broader lesson about illicit markets. Several affected countries already maintained strict controls on nicotine vaping products before etomidate pods appeared. Some prohibited nicotine vapes outright, while others imposed severe restrictions on sales or imports. Nevertheless, criminal organizations found opportunities to distribute drug-laced devices.
That outcome suggests the current challenge differs fundamentally from conventional nicotine regulation. Authorities now face organized criminal enterprises that continually adapt to changes in legislation, substitute new psychoactive substances when existing ones become controlled, and exploit online distribution channels that operate across national borders.
Blurring the public conversation
For the nicotine industry, perhaps the most significant consequence extends beyond enforcement statistics.
The widespread media coverage surrounding zombie vapes risks blurring the distinction be-tween regulated nicotine products and illicit drug devices. Many headlines simply refer to “vapes,” leaving readers with the impression that all vaping products present identical risks. That perception creates a communications challenge for regulators and legitimate manufacturers alike.
Most legal nicotine vaping products are subject to manufacturing standards and contain nicotine rather than anesthetics or narcotics. Zombie vapes occupy an entirely different category: illicit products designed specifically to deliver controlled drugs through familiar vaping hardware. As several researchers have noted, the delivery device may look similar, but the pharmacology, legal status, and public health implications differ substantially.
The distinction will likely become increasingly important as governments attempt to suppress criminal supply chains without confusing the separate regulatory questions surrounding nicotine alternatives.