Risks of Smoking Unfiltered Tobacco Leaves

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar asked the Minister for Health (a) whether sufficient awareness campaigns are carried out to educate the public on the risks of smoking unfiltered tobacco leaves and that the purchase of such tobacco products is the same as buying cigarettes; and (b) whether there is sufficient enforcement to ensure that shops selling such products must also abide by the same laws governing the sale of cigarettes to those below 21 years old.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: We have adopted a multi-pronged approach to reduce the consumption of tobacco. To ensure that the public is aware of the harms of smoking, graphic health warnings have been mandated on all tobacco products. With effect from 1 August 2017, the point-of-sale display ban will also come into force for all tobacco products.

The Health Promotion Board (HPB)'s I Quit Campaign supports smokers to quit by working with community partners and employers to organise roadshows encouraging smokers to sign-up for the I Quit 28-Day Countdown smoking cessation programme. Smokers can also call the HPB’s Quitline or access online resources for help to quit. In 2016, these programmes reached more than 16,000 smokers, including those who use loose tobacco leaves. For the youths, HPB works with the Ministry of Education and Institutes of Higher Learning to incorporate anti-tobacco messages into the curriculum and co-curricular activities, thereby raise awareness about the benefits of a tobacco-free lifestyle, informing youths on the harms of smoking, and teaching how to refuse offers to smoke. In addition, Student Health Advisors are deployed to some schools to address health issues including supporting youths to quit tobacco use. Our outreach efforts have reached out to about 50,000 students in 2016.

Laws governing tobacco sales to under-aged persons are consistently enforced regardless of tobacco product type. The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) conducts educational initiatives and regular enforcement to help retailers comply with the law and takes stern action on errant retailers who do not. In 2016, a total of 30 retailers were caught selling tobacco to under-aged youths. Any person who sells tobacco to an under-aged person is liable upon conviction, to a maximum fine of $5,000 for the first offence and $10,000 for subsequent offences. Retailers caught selling tobacco to under-aged persons are also liable have their tobacco retail licence suspended or revoked.

Among non-cigarette tobacco products, Ang Hoon, a kind of unfiltered tobacco product, is the most common. Ang Hoon and other loose tobacco leaves products made up 1.7% of all tobacco products imported for local consumption in 2016.

Although the import of Ang Hoon has been declining in Singapore over the years, there are concerns overseas that the use of roll-your-own tobacco products may be on the rise among youths due to their lower prices and the misperception that they are less harmful than manufactured cigarettes. In fact, unfiltered tobacco products like Ang Hoon are just as harmful to health as cigarettes.

To prevent an increase in smoking of Ang Hoon among youths here due to a misperception that it is less harmful, we will include relevant messages in our education campaigns to dispel such misconceptions. We will also continue to ensure that the law against tobacco sales to minors is enforced across all categories of tobacco products.