NEA inspectors fan out and warn 245 smokers as new rules to ban smoking in more public places kick in
By
Jermyn Chow
As at 5pm, 245 smokers in about 280 places checked had received reminders. None was fined because smokers took the officers' advice to stub out their cigarettes. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
SMOKERS in Singapore have even fewer places to enjoy a puff now, as a nationwide ban on lighting up in a new list of public areas took effect yesterday.
About 100 plain-clothes enforcement officers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) fanned out across the island yesterday to issue friendly reminders to smokers who were still puffing away in now out-of-bounds areas such as lift lobbies and carparks.
As at 5pm, 245 smokers in about 280 places checked had received reminders. None was fined because smokers took the officers' advice to stub out their cigarettes.
The round-the-clock operation also included spot-checks on nightspots where smoking was banned in 2007.
Mr Tai Ji Choong, who heads operations in NEA's environmental health department, said the agency was pleased with the high level of awareness and compliance. 'We want to take a more educational approach so the public can get used to the ban. Many of them do cooperate with our officers,' he added.
The ban was widened yesterday to include areas such as non-air-conditioned offices, hotel lobbies, multi-storey carparks and places within 5m of the entrances and exits of buildings.
The widened ban is part of a drive since 1970 to stamp out smoking in Singapore. Already, lighting up is forbidden in all hawker centres, restaurants and community clubs, among other places.
NEA has put more officers on the beat - 120 daily, up from 50 - to enforce the ban and also to catch litterbugs. Another 500 public health enforcement officers are on duty daily to check on cleanliness and hygiene in public areas, as well as smokers and litterbugs.
A smoker who ignores the ban can be fined up to $1,000; operators who fail to advise their patrons to stub it out can also be fined.
Many buildings across the island - including shopping malls in Orchard Road and the airport - have been gearing up for the ban by putting away ashtrays, except those in designated smoking areas.
Property developer CapitaLand, which owns 15 shopping malls here, sets aside about three smoking areas in each of its malls and has four officers making rounds to make sure smokers do not light up where they should not.
Mall personnel have been reaching out to tenants since last July, and they have also been trained to approach smokers and direct them tactfully to the designated areas. CapitaLand's head of engineering and technical services, Mr Chow Chee Khang, said those who refuse to listen are referred to the NEA.
Smokers seemed to accept the fact that they can indulge in their habit only in approved areas. Mr Eric Lam, 35, who works in IMM Building in Jurong, said he can no longer light up in just any outdoor area at work - he has to take a five- to eight-minute walk to a designated area on the ground floor. The sales coordinator took it well: 'The inconvenience is very slight when I'm stressed and I need a cigarette.'
Advertising executive Jason Lim, 32, who was less enthusiastic about the ban, said: 'While it's good for those who don't smoke, I feel I have lost my rights as a smoker and the freedom to smoke in public.'
Spotted lighting up at the entrance of Orchard Cineleisure was Mr Abdullah Zulkarnain, 24, who said he had not realised that yesterday was Day One of the enlarged ban. He put a positive spin on it: 'It's all the easier for me to smoke less and spend less on cigarettes, which are so expensive.'
Non-air-conditioned workplaces, shops and shopping centres
Underground and multi-storey carparks
Lift and hotel lobbies
Playgrounds and exercise areas
Anywhere within 5m of a building's entrances and exits
Areas already covered under the ban
Cinemas
Theatres
Lifts
Amusement centres
Hospitals and nursing homes
Air-conditioned buildings
Markets
Buses and taxis
Banks
In queues
Indoor sports arenas like bowling alleys, gymnasiums and fitness centres
Stadiums
Swimming pools
Bus interchanges
Coffee shops and non-air-conditioned food outlets*
Entertainment outlets*
(*Except for designated smoking areas in these places)
SMOKERS who infringe on the smoking ban can be fined up to $1,000. Operators who fail to advise their patrons against lighting up can be fined up to $2,000.
Another change to the rules is that smokers can now smoke only cigarettes that have been specially labelled to distinguish these duty-paid packs from contrabands.
Each stick will be stamped with 'SDPC' - which stands for Singapore Duty-Paid Cigarettes - near the filter end.
Travellers who bring in cigarettes from abroad must declare them and pay the excise tax and the goods and services tax on them. They should keep the issued receipts in case of checks by enforcement officers.
Those caught with duty-unpaid cigarettes will be fined at least $500 for each pack found on them.
