Smoking ban extended to more public areas

Corridors, void decks and staircases will be no-smoking zones

By Tan Dawn Wei, The Straits Times, 7 Mar 2012

SMOKERS will have even fewer places to light up, with the smoking ban extended to common corridors, void decks and staircases of residential buildings.

Other new no-smoking zones include sheltered walkways, overhead bridges and outdoor hospital compounds. The change kicks in in the coming year.

At bus stops, the change means those who want to light up must stay outside a 5m radius around bus shelters.

Selected parks and town centres could be next, as the authorities make them part of a pilot project to introduce no-smoking zones.

The move to widen smoking prohibition comes on the heels of a public consultation exercise which the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Health Promotion Board (HPB) embarked on last November. The six-week online exercise attracted 8,000 respondents, with 89 per cent of them supporting an extension of the ban. As many as 85 per cent wanted cigarettes stubbed out of common areas in residential buildings.

Senior Minister of State (Environment and Water Resources) Grace Fu said yesterday there was 'broad support' for extending the smoking ban to places that non-smokers cannot reasonably avoid.

Smoking is currently not allowed in most indoor public areas and on all public transport.

In 2006, the authorities prohibited smoking in non-air-conditioned food outlets and hawker centres but allowed those with outdoor dining areas to set aside 20 per cent of that space for a smoking corner. A year later, it extended the ban to entertainment outlets.

HPB is also on a drive to make hawker centres voluntarily smoke-free. There are now 39 such hawker centres.

While the ban extension will go ahead, details of its implementation will be worked out in consultation with the community and building owners, said Ms Fu.

Both community engagement and individual responsibility are vital to make the ban work, as there are limited resources when it comes to enforcing the prohibition, she added.

It is the Government's long-term goal to ban smoking in all public places, except in designated smoking areas.

'Going forward, with more areas gazetted as non-smoking, we will need clearer demarcation of areas where smoking is allowed, with everyone playing their part to observe the rules,' said Ms Fu.

The aim is to work towards making Singaporeans consider smoking not only bad for health, but also socially unacceptable, she said.

Smokers interviewed lament the new restrictions, which extends the ban to their doorstep. Said marketing manager Kelvin Tan, 33: 'Where else do we go to smoke now? You mean we have to hide in our rooms to smoke? I can't do that because my family would mind.'

Housewife Glen Singh, 29, agreed. 'We have our own rights, within the vicinity of the house,' she said.

Ms Cheng Hui Qing, 46, a coffee shop assistant who works at Block 95, Lorong 4 Toa Payoh, does not expect the change to translate to better business as there are only four tables in the smoking corner.

Ms Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC) told Parliament yesterday that her residents have asked for a wider ban on smoking. She sees enforcement as the challenge for NEA. Anyone caught smoking in a prohibited place can be fined up to $1,000.

She suggested that instead of punishing offenders, the authorities encourage offenders to volunteer for quit-smoking programmes.

Smokers split on new rules
Some understand need for extending ban; others cite even more inconvenience
By Siau Ming En, The Straits Times, 8 Mar 2012

WHILE some smokers said the extension of no-smoking zones will inconvenience them, they added that they also understand the need for such a move.

On Tuesday, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu announced in Parliament that the places where smoking is banned will soon include common corridors, void decks and staircases of residential buildings.

Smoking will be prohibited within a 5m radius around bus shelters. Sheltered walkways, overhead bridges and outdoor hospital compounds will also be added to the list. The new rules will kick in in the coming year.

'I think the extension of the smoking ban is fair. I've been to other countries, like Japan, where I have to walk up to 200m to find an area to smoke,' said Mr Peter Lim, 34, an engineer. 'We should open our minds to what is happening around the globe,' he added.

Senior engineer Jeremiah Chan, 40, understands that non-smokers could be affected by second-hand smoke which can make them vulnerable to contracting ailments like cancer and heart diseases.

Said Mr Chan, who tried to kick the smoking habit previously: 'It bothered me when people started to smoke around me when I was trying to quit.'

But other smokers are unhappy about the new move.

'I think it is discriminatory to us; this ban is not going to stop us from smoking,' said Mr Edy Lim, 35, a real estate agent.

Restaurant supervisor Ashri Noor, 34, fears that with more places designated out of bounds for smokers, he will have few places to light up.

'I can't smoke anywhere. I've got a baby at home so I can't smoke at home.' He added: 'I'm not asking for much, just probably 10 per cent of the space.'

The authorities have been widening its smoking ban progressively over the years. Smoking is not allowed in most public spaces, including bus stops, coffee shops and nightspots, except in designated areas in these facilities.

About 14 per cent of Singaporeans are smokers.

Ms Fu told Parliament that it is the Government's long-term goal to prohibit smoking in all public places, except in designated smoking areas.

MP Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC) told The Straits Times on Tuesday that instead of levying a fine on those caught smoking in prohibited places, they should instead be given an option to join a quit-smoking programme.

Anyone caught smoking in a prohibited area faces a maximum fine of $1,000.

Her suggestion has found support among some smokers.

'I've thought about trying to quit smoking before, so if I have to choose, I'll take up the programme,' said Ms Christine Wit, 30, a sales assistant.

Extent of ban in other countries

Australia

Across the country, smoking is banned inside all airports, government offices, health clinics, workplaces, pubs and restaurants. In Tasmania, indoor smoking is banned and smoking within 3m of entrances or exits of non-domestic buildings is prohibited. Additionally, at least half the tables in outdoor dining areas must be smoke-free. In 2008, regulations were extended to make smoking in cars with passengers under 18 illegal.

Bhutan

In 2005, smoking in public places like restaurants and pubs was banned. A law in 2010 banned the sale or smuggling of tobacco into Bhutan. Smoking in all public places and restricted areas - such as banks - is also illegal.

New Zealand

Last year, it announced a ban on smoking throughout prisons. Bans already exist in all indoor workplaces, licensed premises (bars, restaurants, cafes, sports clubs, casinos) and on public transport.

Outdoor smoke-free laws also cover the grounds of all schools, of some hospitals, stadiums and some university campuses.

Canada

Smoking is banned in indoor public spaces and workplaces across all states. Smoking rooms are not permitted in hotels. Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Ontario have also banned smoking in vehicles with children under 14 years old.

Britain

In 2007, smoking bans were imposed in nearly all enclosed public spaces, including bars, restaurants and workplaces.

Dousing the desire for that puff
Editorial, The Straits Times, 13 Mar 2012

SINGAPORE has among the world's most stringent smoking prohibitions, dating from the 1970s when cinemas, buses and lifts were the first targeted. Based on the current smoking prevalence of 14 per cent - among the developed world's lowest - public-space restrictions and tobacco sales controls are helping to stub out an undesirable habit. A comparison with the OECD nations' rates is revealing: from 15 per cent in Sweden to a high of 39 per cent in Greece. The median is 23 per cent. Singapore is doing well.

But in common with developed nations, the emphasis has moderated subtly from total tobacco eradication, which is beyond reach, to countering the extent of second-hand smoke, where the harm caused is insidious and potentially more widespread. The Heath Promotion Board's (HPB) effort to persuade more food centres and coffee shops to go completely smoke-free could be seen in this light.

At present, designated smokers' areas are permitted on these premises as a concession to smokers. The HPB now seeks voluntary compliance on phasing these out progressively. Taking into account the impact on business is fair. It is a wise distinction to make, as a smoking ban on food centres has existed in all but name since 2006. What the HPB does, in concert with the World Health Organisation's movement against secondary smoke, is to target places people frequent, by demonstrating the health benefits of an environment free of tobacco smoke. It has an easy appeal, and should enjoy wide acceptance. Any plan that encourages people to give up smoking, or to be considerate to non-smokers, is to be applauded.

In this connection, the HPB's target may seem underwhelming - namely, to make a fifth of the 107 food centres nationwide totally smoke-free voluntarily in two years. It is not. It would be easy to cry out for more compulsion, more quickly. But that would be foolhardy. Ten food centres have agreed to participate, a validation of the public interest. As noted, smoking restrictions are already pretty comprehensive: Some 40 public areas, enclosed or open, are covered. Smokers are gradually being eased out of more and more spaces to light up. But there is no need to turn them into outcasts. It seems a reasonable compromise to have some designated areas set aside for them. If they misuse the concession and public pressure forces the National Environment Agency (NEA) to eliminate even these corners, it will be their doing. The anti-smoking tide is inexorable. Feedback on widening smoking-restricted areas which the NEA has received has included parks and walkways. Smokers would do well to pick their places to puff carefully, always mindful of the health of others.