Just a slight disagreement...

This is from the online source at (http://app.mewr.gov.sg/press.asp?id=CDS2136)

(Disclaimer : This is not an article targeted against the Singapore Government but rather an argument against a policy that the Singapore Government is considering.)

My responses to the quotes that I'll put here are my own. Although I am a smoker, I laud the NEA and HPB's effort in reviewing the list of public places in which the smoking ban should be extended with certain exceptions.

The exceptions stem from parts of the statement by Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, at the Committee of Supply Debate 2005, 8 March 2005, 2.45 PM

Lets start then...

"... protect non-smokers against the harmful effects of second-hand smoke." which is followed by "My Ministry also plans to extend the ban on smoking to entertainment outlets such as pubs, bars, discos, nightclubs and KTV lounges. In the case of entertainment outlets, it is difficult for patrons to avoid second-hand smoke as these are enclosed areas with limited air circulation..."

Honestly speaking, if a non-smoker decides to go to a pub, bar, disco, nightclub or KTV lounge knowing fully well that it will be patronised by smokers and thus they will inadvertently inhale second-hand smoke and thus increase their risk of heart and lung disease, it is his/her decision to make.

Are non-smokers unable to make their own decisions when it comes to patronising these places?

If non-smokers argue that these places which do not allow smoking do not exist. then my suggestion, instead of a simple (lack of thought solution such as a) blanket prohibition/ban, the government give tax breaks to give incentives to pub, bar, disco, nightclub and KTV lounges to go smoke free.

Then, smokers and non-smokers can decide and have the FREEDOM to CHOOSE which of these places to patronise. Giving partial tax incentives for those that have smoking and non-smoking sections that are isolated from one another is another suggestion (for the wishy washy people out there).

Are Singaporean non-smokers that helpless from the effects of tobacco smoke in the eyes of the Government? Do Singaporean non-smokers lack the ability to decide what they want that they need such "spoon-feeding" laws to take effect and make the decision for them?

If so, why not an outright ban on the sale and import of cigarettes altogether? The Singapore Government has already banned items such as chewing gum for even more trivial and less health related issues why not extend it to include tobacco products.

On a broader issue of banning smoking is places such as pubs, discos, nightclubs and KTV lounges, the Government is not solving the issue of getting people to quit smoking but rather to bring smoking (and to a certain extent, alcoholism) into private property (namely, their own homes) thus increasing the chances of breeding another generation of smokers. People would no longer go to pubs, discos, nightclubs and KTV lounges and simply stay at home to smoke since there's no chance of breaking the prohibition.

I know that people who make the decisions will not read this and in all likelihood, this is an argument would probably fall on deaf ears. But it was fun penning it and putting it down anyways.

Perhaps, if I went to Hong Lim Park and yelled at the top of my cigarette smoke filled lungs, I might feel better about it at the end of the day and invite someone from either the NEA or HPB to take notice...

NOT!