Smokers can only light up at designated corners in the premises.

But at a popular coffeeshop in Ang Mo Kio, some were seen flouting the new ruling.

When approached for an interview, most just walked away.

But one smoker said: "I don't want to come to this coffeeshop again, there are no seats in the smokers' corner, and if I smoke elsewhere, I'll get caught."

Over at the Adam Food Centre, law-abiding smokers were seen lighting up within a 'yellow box'.

Some smoked just outside the compound, in the car park and near the toilets.

Non-smokers were relieved.

"Second-hand smoke harms the rest of the people, so you shouldn't be bothering people and their families. So it is good to smoke elsewhere," said a non-smoker.

Interestingly, some smokers Channel NewsAsia spoke to, agreed.

"You find that when you eat something, if beside you, there is a smoker....feel very stink," said a smoker at a hawker centre in Queenstown.

Food outlets can choose to designate 10 to 20 percent of the space in their compound as a smokers' corner.

But will this measure really solve the health problems of second-hand smoke?

"There is a fan around. People smoke, the smoke will move around the whole area," said a member of the public.

The National Environment Agency says that it has not increased the number of officers on the ground enforcing the smoking ban.

But it will do so if the situation requires it.

Smokers found lighting up outside the smokers' corner or in smoke-free zones can be fined $200.

Meanwhile another 2000 outlets have applied for smokers' corners in their premises. - CNA/ir

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