‘Zombie cigarettes’: Thai authorities warn of deadly drug-laced vapes

Name: Why are Chinese tourists wary of going to Thailand and has it become a dangerous place to travel?
Uploaded: 2025-02-26T12:29:11.000Z
Duration: 9 min 4 s
Description: Why are Chinese tourists wary of going to Thailand and has it become a dangerous place to travel?

The e-cigarettes contain the narcotic etomidate, an anaesthetic agent that is potentially fatal

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Authorities say “zombie cigarettes” are laced with the potentially fatal drug etomidate.

SCMP’s Asia desk

Published: 8:29pm, 26 Feb 2025Updated: 8:36pm, 26 Feb 2025

The Thai government has warned young people to remain vigilant against the rising threat of a new form of narcotic, dubbed “zombie cigarettes”, which combines e-cigarettes with the dangerous drug etomidate.

Anukul Prueksanusak, deputy spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, said on Monday that authorities had seized a significant quantity of the newly developed drug and pledged to intensify their crackdown against it.

Authorities said in a statement released the same day that zombie cigarettes are primarily circulating in nightlife areas but are also being illegally sold online and in social settings. The statement warned the public not to be deceived by claims that they are safe to use.

What makes zombie cigarettes so dangerous is their use of etomidate, an anaesthetic agent that can cause severe drowsiness, reduced breathing rates and even death in some cases, according to the statement.

“There is no way to know what substances the seller intentionally mixed in or how much [narcotics are contained],” Anukul added.

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Why are Chinese tourists wary of going to Thailand and has it become a dangerous place to travel?

Anukul also called on parents to closely monitor their children’s behaviour for warning signs, such as spending large amounts of money, being drowsy for large parts of the day and isolating themselves in their rooms.