Smoking but still between 18 to 21 of age? Don’t worry, this will not affect you (or well, you should worry, because you really shouldn’t be smoking!).
But nevertheless, changes will be phased in over a few years. Hence, youths above 18 who are already smokers will not be affected by the change.
Legal Smoking Age Raised to 21
Singapore will be joining places such as New York City and California in raising the legal age for smoking from 18 to 21. The proposed laws to raise the legal smoking age will be tabled in Parliament within a year, and the change will be phased in over a few years.
On Thursday (9 March 2017), Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor in Parliament told the House that nearly half of smokers become regular smokers between the ages of 18 and 21. To support the evidence, World Health Organisation stated in a report that those who do not start smoking before 21 “are unlikely ever to begin”.
That’s a pretty huge number to consider if you ask me. Furthermore, The Ministry of Health (MOH) would take further steps to reduce, if not eliminate, opportunities for young people to take up smoking before 21. This quickly drew strong opinions from the public. Some applauded the move, while others questioned why smoking wasn’t banned altogether.
If you’re considering statistics, the prevalence of smoking in Singapore has improved over the years, from 18.3% in 1992 to 13.3% in 2013. However, it stagnated in recent years. Smoking rates among young men are still high, while the smoking rates of young women are creeping up.
What’s the reason for increasing the legal age for smoking? Research has shown that adolescent brains tend to be more sensitive to the rewarding effects of nicotine. The younger the youths are when they first try smoking, the greater the levels of nicotine addiction. Hence, it increases the likelihood of continuing into adulthood.
Perhaps by increasing the legal age, it’ll be effective in discouraging more youths to smoke?
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Featured Image: Brian A Jackson / Shutterstock.com
This article was first published on goodyfeed.com
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