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SINGAPORE: Smokers will not be allowed to light in public in the Orchard Road area from next January.
In a press release issued Wednesday, Nov. 28, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said that the area of Orchard Road will be designated non-smoking area from January 1, 2019.
The NEA added that smoking will only be allowed in designated smoking areas, while smoking areas in food and beverage establishments located in the non-smoking area will also be canceled by December 31st. 2018. Approximately 40 DSAs have been put in place (see list below). .
The transformation of Orchard Road into a smoke-free area was originally scheduled to begin in July 2018.
One month before implementation, the NEA announced that the ban on smoking would be postponed until the end of the year in order to give businesses more time to prepare for the transition.
STRENGTHEN AWARENESS
The NEA has announced that it will advertise in the smoke-free zone over the coming weeks to raise public awareness of the prohibition of smoking.
"The community volunteers have already begun to engage the public in the compound, and brochures will be available at the shopping malls and outlets for tobacco products, indicating the location of the DSA." NEA.
Advertisements will be posted at Orchard, Somerset, Newton and Dhoby Ghaut MRT stations, as well as selected bus stops and buses on Orchard Road.
Signs will also be installed on lampposts and garbage cans in the area, while mobile online banners will be used to extend the reach of the campaign.
READ: Singapore to introduce plain packaging and broader graphic warnings for all tobacco products
No smoking in the Orchard Road area. (Image: National Agency for the Environment
To inform foreign visitors of the non-smoking area, the NEA and the Singapore Tourist Board (STB) have incorporated the relevant information on STB's Visit STB webpage.
Inbound travelers will be notified through advertising material posted at the points of entry, such as Changi Airport, Singapore Cruise Center and Marina Bay Cruise Center. Travel agents, tour guides and hotels will also be updated so that they can advise tourists.
SMOKING CORNER
Smoking areas in food retail establishments located in the no smoking zone will be canceled by December 31, 2018.
The NEA said it was stopping accepting applications for new smoking spots in food retail establishments across the island since June 2017.
"Smoking areas already approved and located outside the no-smoking zone would be allowed to remain until the current food retail licenses are terminated or canceled." No new smoking areas will be allowed. approved for the following licensees of the same establishment. ", added NEA.
READ: NEA will use cameras to detect illegal smoking – here's how it could work
MEASURES OF EXECUTION OF 1 APRIL
The NEA has stated that it will take a consultative approach in the first three months of its deployment and that people caught in the act of smoking in public spaces in the smoke-free zone will receive verbal warnings.
However, arrested persons who smoke in non-smoking areas, such as walkways and bus stops, will continue to face coercive measures. Those who flout the law repeatedly despite previous warnings may also be fined.
The new rules will be applied to all those who smoke in the public areas of the smoke-free zone as of April 1st.
The law also requires operators and operators of premises where smoking is prohibited to ask smokers to quit or direct them to the nearest DSA if they wish to continue smoking.
"The NEA takes a strict stance against smokers who break the law and our officers ensure due process of law in no-smoking areas," said the agency.
In 2017, approximately 22,000 tickets were issued for smoking in prohibited areas.
Smoking areas
- Behind Somerset MRT Station
- Cineleisure orchard of Cathay (2)
- Hotel Concorde and shopping center (2)
- Terrace Cuppage
- DFS Galleria
- Far East Plaza
- Far East Shopping Center
- Forum The mall
- Four Seasons Hotel (2)
- Goodwood Park Hotel (3)
- Grand Hyatt Singapore
- Hilton Singapore
- Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road (2)
- Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Center (2)
- Ming Arcade
- Ngee Ann City (2)
- Orchard Rendezvous Hotel (2)
- Orchard tours (2)
- Plaza Singapura
- Shaw House
- Tang Plaza
- Tanglin Mall
- Tanglin Place
- Tanglin Shopping Center
- The centrepoint
- Heeren
- The paragon
- The quincy hotel
- The Regent Singapore (2)
- Wheelock Place
- York Hotel (2)
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