Ban on Sale of Tobacco

Dr Janil Puthucheary asked the Minister for Health in light of the recent consideration of a proposal to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after the year 2000 in Tasmania, an idea originally conceptualised in Singapore, whether the Ministry will consider reviewing its stance on the matter.

Tasmania's Legislative Council (or upper house of parliament) passed a motion on 21 August 2012, calling on the state government to initiate and promote measures to "support a tobacco-free generation of children born this century".

I had earlier in April this year, put forth to this House, the reasons why MOH would not pursue the cohort ban. There are significant practical difficulties and risks in implementing and enforcing such a measure. Moreover, the ban might not result in the desired reduction in smoking rates, as it could be easily circumvented.

Although Singapore has one of the lowest smoking prevalence rate at 14.3%, we will continue to work towards further reducing smoking prevalence through a combination of public education and legislative measures, making smoking even less convenient and socially less acceptable.

We have also incorporated health promotion messages on smoking in the school curricula. Youth Advolution for Health (YAH) is a youth-led peer advocacy programme that promotes a healthy lifestyle, including smoke-free living. The "Live it Up without Lighting Up" (LIUWLU) movement also reaches out to youth outside the school environment to highlight the benefits of a smoke-free lifestyle.