"Don't Toy With Your Life": Singapore Health Board's Stark Vaping Warning

If you’ve been traveling on Singapore’s MRT recently, you might have noticed them — eerie silhouettes scattered across the network, shrouded in mystery. What at first seemed like an enigmatic art installation turned out to be something far more significant: a nationwide anti-vape campaign with a hard-hitting message.

The campaign, titled “Don’t Toy With Your Life”, is the brainchild of Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) and creative agency TBWA\Singapore. With its unconventional approach, it seeks to tackle a growing concern among Singapore’s youth — the rise of vaping. By blending dark humor with striking visuals, the campaign aims to shift perceptions and behaviors, reminding young people that what may seem like harmless fun could lead to serious health and legal consequences.

The numbers paint a troubling picture. According to The Straits Times, the number of individuals caught using or possessing e-cigarettes in 2022 was nearly four times higher than in 2020. While some attribute this surge to the aesthetic appeal of vaping devices, a poll conducted by the Ministry of Health, HPB, and National Youth Council revealed another key driver: peer influence. For many youths, vaping isn’t just a personal choice — it’s a social one, fueled by the desire to fit in.

But fitting in comes at a cost. Beyond the well-documented health risks, vaping carries legal repercussions in Singapore, where stringent laws ban the use, possession, and sale of e-cigarettes. Public education campaigns like “Don’t Toy With Your Life” are therefore critical in addressing not just the behavior but also the underlying social pressures that drive it.

At the heart of the campaign lies a provocative idea: grotesque figurines packaged as collectible toys. Dubbed “Popcorn Lungs,” “Addicted Brain,” and “Diseased Heart,” these fictional creations are designed to shock and educate. Their vibrant, eye-catching packaging mirrors the marketing tactics often used to glamorize vaping, but a closer look reveals their unsettling truth — the severe health harms associated with e-cigarette use.

“We intentionally mirror the appealing aesthetics often used to attract potential users, only to reveal the serious health risks and legal consequences of vaping,” explained Loo Yong Ping, executive creative director of TBWA\Singapore. “By reimagining anti-vape communication through the lens of collectible packaging, we transformed pop-culture visuals into a visually arresting warning to initiate important conversations.”

This duality — attraction and repulsion — is central to the campaign’s strategy. By leveraging youths’ fascination with limited-edition collectibles, the campaign uses design as a cultural Trojan horse, embedding its urgent message within a format that feels familiar and engaging to its target audience.

Beyond its striking visuals, the campaign film takes aim at the broader forces shaping youth behavior. It tells the story of a fictional live streamer who uses manipulative sales tactics to promote the grotesque figurines, mirroring the ways harmful trends like vaping are glamorized online. The film serves as both a critique of social media influence and a cautionary tale about the dangers of succumbing to peer pressure.

In doing so, the campaign doesn’t just address the act of vaping itself but also the societal dynamics that make it appealing. It challenges youths to think critically about the influences they allow into their lives and to recognize that the allure of vaping is often nothing more than a carefully constructed illusion.

To ensure its message resonates, the campaign spans multiple touchpoints. From cinematic films to island-wide out-of-home placements and targeted digital content, “Don’t Toy With Your Life” is impossible to ignore. Its bold, disruptive presence reflects the urgency of its mission: to save lives by exposing the deceptive allure of vaping.

As Singapore grapples with the rising tide of e-cigarette use, campaigns like this serve as a powerful reminder that public health is not just about policies and regulations — it’s about changing hearts and minds. By speaking directly to youths in a language they understand, “Don’t Toy With Your Life” is a wake-up call to see past the facade and confront the harsh realities of vaping. Because when it comes to your health, there’s no room for games.