Specifying Fixed No-smoking Radius around Playgrounds

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry will consider specifying a fixed radius around playgrounds where smoking is prohibited; (b) if so, whether the Ministry will consider a radius further than five metres, considering the harmful effects of second-hand tobacco smoke to children; and (c) if not, what are the reasons for not specifying a radius.

Under the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Regulations, smoking has been prohibited at all publicly accessible playgrounds since 2009. Smoking at amenities adjacent to playgrounds such as chairs, benches and sidewalks that are for users of the playground and their caregivers, is also prohibited. This serves as a buffer area to protect the playground users from second-hand tobacco smoke. My Ministry will review the smoking prohibition regulations from time to time.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State this: while I understand that there are restrictions currently on the nearby amenities, but there are in certain cases, where there are other kinds of amenities that are not for parents to sit to watch their kids and there are times where there are smokers as well.

How does the Ministry ensure that the ground enforcement officers and the public are clear on the boundaries where smoking is permissible at such instances, as this could lead to disputes on the ground?

I thank the Member for his follow-up question. Let me say that the present practice, which is to include the adjacent amenities – the chairs, the benches, even spectator stands and sidewalks of playgrounds and exercise facilities – in the smoking prohibited areas is, to us, a practical and reasonable way to protect users from second-hand smoke. And by and large, this has largely sufficed.

The number of feedback or complaints on smoking related to such facilities is actually very low, less than 1%. And, in fact, the number related to buffer areas is even smaller. So, I think this is really like I said, a more realistic way, in terms of highly urbanised and dense Singapore.

What we do is, there will be some cases where there could be concerns, as the Member rightly pointed out, in terms of design and location of the facilities. And I think for such instances, localised solutions could be worked out, together with the community, the agencies, the stakeholders involved, in order to, say, put up more signs to ensure that people are aware of where this smoking prohibited area is.

In the case of Senja, I understand that there is a new playground, for instance, where the issue is of a dustbin, which is right next to the smoking prohibited area. And I think the Town Council is going to move this further away. There is a coffee shop and patrons utilise that area. So, I think there are localised solutions that we can actually develop.