Bus stations, public toilets, community clubs and public swimming pools will also be included in an expanded list of no-smoking establishments, Environment Minister Yaacob Ibrahim told parliament on Tuesday, March 8.

According to a transcript of his comments released late on Tuesday, Yaacob said the new restrictions would begin later this year, while the government was aiming to eventually enforce a near-blanket ban on smoking in public places.

"In the long-run, my ministry's intent is to do away with the need for an exhaustive list and move towards allowing smoking only in private premises, wide-open spaces and designated smoking areas," Yaacob said.

The government's present ban on smoking covers air-conditioned restaurants and workplaces, public queues and amusement centres.

Using shock tactics that were hailed by the World Health Organization, Singapore also last year introduced mandatory pictures for cigarette packaging that show graphic images such as a cancerous lung and a brain oozing blood after a stroke.

Most recently, the government last month raised the excise tax on cigarettes from S$293 (US$180) per 1000 sticks to $352 per 1000 sticks, a hike of 20 percent.

Yaacob said the government's anti-tobacco measures had paid dividends, with the number of smokers in Singapore falling from 18 percent of the population in 1992 to 14 percent this year.

Among males aged 18-69, the proportion of smokers had fallen from 33 percent to 24 percent.

"However, we see a worrying trend of young females picking up smoking," Yaacob said, adding the proportion of women aged 18-24 who smoked had risen from 2.8 percent to 8.2 percent over the past 13 years.

Yaacob said the government's anti-smoking efforts had public support, with a recent government survey showing more than 80 percent of Singaporeans backed moves to impose some form of a ban on smoking in entertainment outlets.

"The public also recognises the risks posed by second-hand smoke," he said.

                                                      Home