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Nee Soon MP Wants To Speak Up About Secondhand Smoke in Parliament, Asks For Suggestions From Public

2020-09-09 , 1:43 pm

Yishun MP Louis Ng Kok Kwang is walking a precariously fine line between maintaining the rights of non-smokers and smokers.

Extending the discussion on the smoking-at-home ban, the MP has taken to social media to gather opinions regarding the matter.

Gathering Opinions on Facebook

Last Sunday (Sept 6), MP Louis Ng Kok Kwang posted a survey of sorts on his Facebook.

He plans to speak up and file a motion in Parliament next month on issues concerning secondhand smoke.

In his opinion, it’s “crazy” that one should be threatened by the fatal risks of secondhand smoke in his own home.

But then again, he refuses to believe that banning smoking in HDB flats is the solution.

Instead, he aims to find a middle ground where we could “respect the rights of smokers but at the same time protect the health of non-smokers”.

Comments Are Largely Supportive of Ban

A quick look through the comments would reveal a tidal wave of pent-up anger among non-smokers, many of whom cited neighbours as a source of the irritable fumes.

People were particularly affected during the Circuit Breaker when everyone had to stay at home. Some black-sheep smokers also made matters worse by littering cigarette butts and ashes.

Majority of the commenters show support towards an HDB smoking ban. Some even went so far as to propose imposing the ban on all residential properties.

This is consistent with a previous study done by Smoking Cabin SG, the tech startup responsible for a rather genius invention: an air-conditioned smoking space, stationed outdoor, that filters the cigarette smoke inside before releasing it as clean air.

Although on second thought – as if the carbon footprint of smoking alone isn’t enough huh.

Out of the 641 respondents who are non-smokers, 87% can’t stand secondhand smoke.

On the other hand, 79% of smokers surveyed are aware of their friends and families’ intolerance towards secondhand smoke.

Government Reluctant to Impose Ban

Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor had previously expressed hesitance towards implementing the ban.

She deemed the proposition invasive of people’s private space.

Alternatively, Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Joan Pereira suggested allowing smoking at home, with the prerequisite that they ensure no smoke escapes.

It’s hard to imagine enforcing this effectively.

We would either need to be really confident of smokers’ discipline or have smoke detectors at every door and window.

The cost, oh god no.

Secondhand Smoke as Deadly as Smoking

Secondhand smoke lingers and clings to surfaces, even after the smell dissipates.

Smoking in one corner of your home can cause harmful fumes to spread rapidly throughout the household and remain for up to 5 hours.

They’re especially dangerous to children, who breathe faster than adults and thereby take in more of the toxic substances.

So, hopefully, we can arrive at the promised middle ground and spare non-smokers of the health risks they didn’t sign up for.

Smoking Point Trial At Nee Soon South

By the way, for those who aren’t aware, Nee Soon South has 50 of such smoking points on trial since 2017.

The objective of the trial is to see if such shelters are able to keep smokers and their secondhand smoke away from the other residents while keeping them happy at the same time.

So far, nothing’s been reported about whether this will be rolled out to other areas in Singapore.

But hey, given how there’s also no update from the Yishun pilot programme on keeping cats in HDB flats, are you really surprised?

The latest update was back in 2018 implying that the objectives of the programme has not yet been met.

Read Also: Very ‘Huat’ S’pore Pools Outlet At Yishun With 34 Toto Winners To Close Forever

It’s for the future of Yishun.