HOW SMOKERS HAVE REACTED
The ever-increasing restrictions on smoking, coupled with other moves such as hefty hikes in the tobacco tax over the years, have had mixed results.
They gave some smokers, like Mr Kevin Wang, the motivation to quit.
Others say the difficulty of finding smoking points means they smoke less when they have to leave home, and especially if they have to go to the Orchard Road area or the central business district.
Madam Quek said that she smokes an average of six to eight sticks daily, but when she heads out to town, that number drops to four.
But there are also smokers who simply adapted to the changes and found ways to maintain their habit.
Mr Robert Fernando, for example, said that the restrictions did not deter him from cutting down his frequency of 20 sticks per day. The 65-year-old just avoids the places where he can no longer enjoy his cigarettes freely.
“I stopped going to Orchard Road unless it’s absolutely necessary because it takes my freedom away.”
Some former smokers, meanwhile, have switched to vaping, ironically because they find it more convenient in some ways – since it is illegal everywhere, they feel they can light up anywhere.
“Vaping offers the nicotine hit with better flavours, no smell, and the flexibility to vape anywhere, even indoors (which is not possible with cigarettes),” said a creative director in his 30s who wished to remain anonymous.
“You can take a hit anytime, anywhere. It is so common in Singapore that no one’s surprised when you see someone doing it. This normalisation makes it easier to vape indoors – at offices, house parties, even in public toilets”.
Vapes have become so popular that the authorities have been stepping up enforcement measures against offenders.
Last December, HSA and Immigration Checkpoints Authority conducted an enforcement operation at Changi Airport that caught 177 people entering Singapore with e-vapourisers. Sixty-one of them were fined.
Since Nov 2023, authorities said that students caught using or possessing e-vaporisers will be required to attend cessation programmes arranged by the Health Promotion Board and schools.
Recalcitrant offenders may also be referred by the schools to the Health Sciences Authority for further action, such as composition fines or prosecution.
