Legal Age for Smoking in Singapore
In recent years, Singapore has announced plans to raise the legal age for smoking from 18 up to 21 over the years. The first phase will take place on 1st of January 2019 where the legal age of smoking will be raised from 18 to 19, followed by a further raise every January until 2021.
This was done in an effort to reduce the proportion of smokers in Singapore.
Source: AsiaOne
Currently in 2020, the legal age for smoking is at 20 years old.
The Minimum Legal Age (MLA) has mentioned that raising the MLA is aimed at deterring youths from picking up the bad habit of smoking. By increasing the MLA, there will be limited access to tobacco products and this is part of the Ministry’s continued efforts to denormalise smoking and reduce smoking prevalence among youths.
Heavier fines and penalties will be mete out for retailers who do not comply with the new regulations. Retailers who sell any tobacco products to an underaged person shall be liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of S$5,000 for the first offence and S$10,000 for subsequent offences. Their license will also be suspended for the first offence and revoked for subsequent offences.
Underaged persons who are caught smoking, buying or having in possession any tobacco products are also liable on conviction to a fine of up to S$300.
The raise in MLA was debated in Parliament and eventually passed on 7th of November 2017 as part of the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) (Amendment) Bill 2017. The efforts of the government will help to create a healthier lifestyle and environment for the developing youths in Singapore.
