Hong Kong renames ‘space oil’ drug as etomidate to help deter potential users

Hong Kong authorities have renamed the emerging drug “space oil” as etomidate, after its main ingredient, as part of efforts to avoid promoting any positive feelings towards the narcotic.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung also said on Thursday that police had intercepted 250,000 vape cartridges containing the drug in the first half of this year, compared with just 7,000 over the same period in 2024.

“Some of the drug traffickers made use of the name [space oil] to promote the fantasy and positive feelings of taking the drug. This is absolutely wrong,” he said as he announced the narcotic’s renaming.

He said the substance had to be “properly” named to prevent people from forming any positive associations with the drug, while urging news outlets to adopt the phrase.

Authorities previously used the name space oil for vape cartridges that mainly contained the anaesthetic etomidate, which was classified as a dangerous drug in February.

In June, Tang said the government had been considering renaming the drug as “zombie oil” as lawmakers had raised concerns that using the name space oil could risk romanticising the narcotic’s usage.