More no-smoking places in S'pore mulled
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said it is considering expanding the number of places where smoking is banned in Singapore.
In line with this, the agency, in partnership with the Health Promotion Board (HPB), launched an "e-poll" on Friday inviting feedback from the public. It asked for answers to 15 questions, including whether the respondent would like common HDB areas, walkways, parks, beaches and other areas to be smoke free.
According to the e-poll descritpion, smoking is currently prohibited in 37 categories of specified places and five categories of public transport, such as shopping centres, offices, schools, lift lobbies, playgrounds, and basement and multi-storey carparks.
"Environmental tobacco smoke or second-hand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer by 20-30 per cent, and heart disease by 25-30 per cent. Non-smokers exposed to tobacco smoke also suffer from respiratory diseases such as coughs, colds and shortness of breath," NEA pointed out in its poll, which will run until the end of the year.
More than 86 per cent of Singapore's adult population are non-smokers, according to the agency.
