I applaud the latest move towards the anti-smoking effort and I agree with anti-smoking advocate and senior consultant respiratory physician Philip Eng that this will make access more difficult and help deter impulse buyers ("Tobacco display ban will affect sales, retailers say"; Dec 11).

I know someone who had been smoking since she was a teenager, and I often saw her with a cigarette in her hand. A few years after she retired, she quit smoking in one day.

She told me that the sight of a neighbour struggling up a steep slope inspired her to kick the habit.

Today, in her mid-80s, she is still smoke-free, mentally alert and chatty, and keeps up with global news.

I also know of someone who quit smoking in one day because his subordinates said that they did not like attending meetings with him on account of the smell of cigarette smoke lingering on him.

We cannot continue to pump money into healthcare to cater for chronic illness without tackling some of the upstream causes. The link between smoking and chronic illnesses is well documented.

I look forward to the day when we also ban smoking within 25m of pedestrian crossings, especially those with traffic lights, and within 25m of children.

Yum Shoen Liang