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SINGAPORE – Complaints about secondhand smoke in residential areas here have risen in recent months, and MPs have taken various steps to address the problems.
This feedback exceeded 2,500 monthly reports for May and June, from less than 2,000 monthly before, according to data from the Office of Municipal Services.
State Minister for National Development Sim Ann, who oversees the MSO, said the increase is likely due to more people working from home, the “new normal” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is very likely that people who used to smoke, mainly in the workplace, are now returning the habit to where they live,” he said on Saturday (August 29), adding that this is a widespread problem faced by many. parliamentarians.
While smokers don’t break the law when they light fires in their own homes, some smoke on stairs or on empty terraces, which is illegal.
Ms. Sim added that the MSO is studying the issue closely, including evaluating different solutions such as mediation or community dispute resolution court.
Meanwhile, he has been analyzing efforts at various farms, where MPs have been using various means to persuade smokers to be more considerate of the smoke that affects their neighbors.
In MP Carrie Tan’s Nee Soon South neighborhood, for example, 50 designated smoking points have been established since 2017, when they were first implemented by her predecessor, Ms. Lee Bee Wah. These are small shelters located on the ground floor within walking distance of the residential blocks.
Yishun Street 81. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Mr. Ng Hak Hai, chair of the Nee Soon South Clean and Green Committee, said that each of these items cost around $ 8,000 but are funded by public donations from individuals or businesses.
In recent weeks, between 200 and 300 cigarette butts have been collected at the most frequented smoking spots, he said.
Ms Tan, MP for Nee Soon GRC, said the secondhand smoke issue has been raised especially by younger families living in the Board of Custom Built Housing flats.
Aside from smoking points, he has posted signs in elevators and HDB block areas where there have been complaints.
The signs remind smokers that there are small children or babies in the vicinity and ask them not to smoke in the area.
Ms. Tan said she will review the effectiveness of these initiatives after three months before deciding on next steps.
In her own neighborhood of Bukit Timah, Ms. Sim has been handing out baskets since the breaker period to smokers who have been the subject of complaints from their neighbors.
The baskets come with healthy foods like fruits and nuts, and a letter from Ms. Sim asking the smoker to consider the effects of smoke on his neighbors and to encourage him to quit.
His team is also considering closed smoking points in the room.
Both MPs said these were part of efforts to use softer methods of “moral suasion” to raise awareness and persuade smokers before resorting to stronger measures.
“It’s not always about the big stick of the app,” said Ms Sim, Holland-Bukit MP Timah GRC.
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