Read articles from Singapore

January 11, 2024 by channelnewsasia.com

Public health, not potential tax revenue losses, was the reason Singapore decided to ban electronic cigarettes in 2018, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Wednesday (Jan 10). Member of Parliament James Lim (WP-Sengkang) had filed questions on e-cigarettes or vapes, asking if the potential loss of tax revenue was a factor in disallowing e-cigarettes. In a written reply, Mr Wong said the ban was to protect Singapore's population from the harms of e-cigarettes, also known as vapes.

January 09, 2024 by theindependent.sg

The authorities have cracked down on those found with vapes at the end of 2023 and the start of 2024, with hundreds being fined after being found with e-vaporisers in several operations in December. Amid these actions, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s estranged younger brother, Lee Hsien Yang, has called on the Government to lift its ban on e-cigarettes. In response to a crackdown in early December at Zoukout, Mr Lee Hsien Yang wrote on Facebook on 8 Dec: “Singapore should lift the ban e-cigarettes. The benefits that would accrue from regulated use of e-cigarettes outweigh the potential risks involved.”

December 19, 2023 by straitstimes.com

The authorities will be stepping up enforcement and education efforts against vaping to prevent it from having a foothold in Singapore. This comes as users continue to buy e-vaporisers or vapes online, or when they go overseas, despite the ban on these products, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a joint statement on Dec 19. Those who possess, use or buy e-vaporisers may be fined up to $2,000.

December 19, 2023 by channelnewsasia.com

As part of a multi-agency effort to clamp down on vaping, Singapore authorities will step up checks at air, land and sea checkpoints in the coming months, starting with Changi Airport. "Incoming passengers may be screened for e-vaporisers and their components at the arrival halls, and those found with e-vaporisers or their components will be fined," said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in a media release on Tuesday (Dec 19). Passengers carrying e-vaporisers must pass through the Red Channel, which is for people with goods to declare, so that they can dispose of the prohibited items. 

November 16, 2020 by channelnewsasia.com

SINGAPORE: Singapore has been a tough place for a smoker to live in.

Smokers cannot seem to catch a break, particularly with the suggestion to ban smoking near home balconies and windows by Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament and Group Parliament Committee for Sustainability and Environment Louis Ng in October reviving a national debate about how far the country should go to combat smoking completely.

Make smokers close their windows when they smoke, some suggested. 

Ban smoking altogether, a few frustrated netizens said.

August 12, 2020 by vapingpost.com

In October 2018, Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) had announced that it would be introducing standardised packaging for tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, beedies [...] and other roll-your-own tobacco products, as part of ongoing efforts to reduce local smoking rates. The measure has finally gone into effect, and besides plain packaging, meaning that all logos, colours, images and promotional information on the packaging of tobacco products should be removed, it includes a clause requiring graphic health warnings that cover at least 75% of the packet.

April 17, 2020 by vapingpost.com

Singaporean smokers enrolling in newly launched smoking cessation pilot programmes, will be entitled to full subsidies for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in order to help them quit smoking. [...] The programme aims to reach approximately 10,000 smokers, and interested parties would benefit from intensive behavioural support, follow-up for up to a year and a three-month NRT supply. The success rate via such smoking cessation programmes is believed to range from 10 to 20 per cent. [...] Dr Daniel Fung, said that there are various methods to quit smoking, with the NRT being the most common method.

February 11, 2019 by channelnewsasia.com

SINGAPORE: New restrictions on cigarette packaging will be introduced in Singapore, after amendments to the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Bill were passed in Parliament on Monday (Feb 11).

All tobacco products will be have to be sold in plain packaging - in a standardised colour and with all logos, brand images and promotional information removed. Brand names and product names will be allowed, but only in a standard colour and font style.

October 31, 2018 by channelnewsasia.com

All tobacco products in Singapore may soon be required to be sold in plain packaging with graphic health warnings covering at least 75 per cent of the packet.

This comes after the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Wednesday (Oct 31) that it will introduce standardised packaging for such products sold in Singapore, as part of ongoing efforts for a tobacco-free society. The proposed measures will apply to all tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, beedies [...]

January 08, 2018 by yahoo.com

First, they took away shisha tobacco and hookahs, citing a need to reduce the public’s tobacco consumption. Now, the authorities are not sparing the “healthier” alternative to tobacco cigarettes either. A total ban on electronic cigarettes, which was passed in November last year, will come into effect in the next few months. Vaping has in recent years been regarded as a successful way to quit smoking. [...]