For those who aren’t aware, the minimum smoking age in Singapore has changed from 18 to 19 since the start of the year.
In a bid to curb the unhealthy habit, the government has been progressively raising the lower age limit for the “purchase, use, possession, sale and supply of tobacco products”, according to a report by Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Starting 1 Jan 2020, the minimum smoking age will be raised to 20 years old, so if you’re a smoker younger than that, you have approximately 3 weeks to kick the habit.
Incidents of underage smoking continue to be prevalent and have become a cause of concern among Singaporeans.
Hoping to reduce the phenomenon, the Ministry of Health (MOH) implemented a progressive increase of the legal smoking age from January 2019.
This move is part of the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Bill, which Parliament had passed in November 2018.
As the lower limit rises, access to cigarettes will be more difficult, hence, stopping youths from picking up the habit.
With the new minimum legal age at 20, we can foresee many tertiary students and NSFs having to quit smoking soon.
And by soon, we mean 1 January 2020, which is less than a month away.
Those below 20 who are caught smoking, buying or possessing cigarettes from that date onwards may be fined $300.
Retailers will also have to stop selling tobacco products to customers under 20 years old or risk facing an initial $5,000 fine, plus suspension of their tobacco retail licence.
If they repeat the offence, they may face a $10,000 fine and get their licence revoked.
Anyone caught obtaining cigarettes for a person under 20 faces a $2,500 fine for the first offence and $5,000 for following ones.
Simply giving cigarettes to an underage person is illegal too, and could cost you $500 the first time, followed by $1,000 if you do it again.
The rise in minimum legal age won’t stop here, however, as the government aims to increase it to 21 by 2021.
Whether they will review the target remains uncertain, but perhaps this gradual change is a welcome one for a healthier, smoke-free society.
Do you agree with the change? Let us know in the comments.
Featured image adapted from Youth.SG.
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