Ms See Jinli Jean asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what measures are in place to curb smoking at covered walkways and linkways; (b) how effective have these measures been in (i) addressing and (ii) deterring individuals from re-offending at these places; (c) whether there are plans to enhance or expand these effective measures in tandem with the Government's plan to build more covered walkways and linkways islandwide; and (d) if so, what are they.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: To reduce the public's exposure to the harmful effects of second-hand tobacco smoke, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has progressively extended the smoking prohibition to cover more than 49,000 places islandwide. This includes sheltered walkways and linkways, which came under the smoking prohibition in 2013.
NEA carries out regular inspections and enforces against smoking offences at smoking-prohibited places. In 2023, NEA issued about 14,700 tickets for smoking at prohibited places, of which more than 5,000 were for smoking at sheltered walkways and linkways. Offenders caught smoking in a prohibited place may face a composition sum of $200. If convicted in Court, the offenders may be liable to a fine of up to $1,000.
In 2023, feedback and tickets for smoking at sheltered walkways and linkways decreased by around 25% and 12% respectively, as compared to the pre-COVID-19 period in 2019. This suggests that awareness and enforcement efforts have yielded some positive results. NEA will continue to monitor and enforce against smoking in prohibited places, including at new sheltered walkways and linkways.
