SMOKING PROHIBITION IN RESTRICTED PLACES (Clarification of legislation to tourists)

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon asked the Minister for the Environment what steps are being taken to clarify to foreign tourists the recent legislation against smoking in restricted places so that they can better understand its rationale and implementation.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment (Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng) (for the Minister for the Environment): Mr Speaker, Sir, I am answering on behalf of my Minister.

The managements of premises which come under the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act have a major role to play in enforcing the smoking prohibition. Under the Act, the managements have to put up appropriate signages to inform their customers that smoking is not permitted on their premises. In the event that a customer smokes in a prohibited place, the management will have to inform him of the prohibition and then ask him to either stop smoking or leave the premises. If the customer persists in smoking on the premises, the management may then call on the Ministry's public health inspectors or the Police for assistance.

To ensure that managements understand the rationale behind the legislation and are able to clearly explain the probibition to their customers, my Ministry held dialogue sessions with members of the Singapore Hotel Association and the Restaurant Association of Singapore before the law came into effect on 1st November 1989. Relevant sections of the law, as well as literature on the harm of cigarettes sidestream smoke, were distributed to members of the associations. The dialogue sessions saw an active participation from the association members, and I am pleased to inform the House that they followed up with positive measures to enforce the law. "No-smoking" signs were placed in the prohibited places to remind both the local population and tourists of the prohibition. The staff of the prohibited places were briefed on the way to approach smokers to advise them on the prohibition. Some of the hotels also highlighted the prohibition in their in-house magazines.

Since 1st November 1989, officers from my Ministry have closely monitored the premises placed under the ambit of the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act. The monitoring has shown that managements have played their part in enforcing the law. Members of the public including tourists are today observing the smoking prohibition.