Rahayu Mahzam on feasibility of cohort tobacco smoking ban

The Ministry of Health (MOH) is continually reviewing and enhancing its anti-smoking measures. This includes studying international practices and ideas on how to further reduce smoking prevalence, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam. Responding to MPs' questions in Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 10) on how relevant a cohort tobacco smoking ban similar to New Zealand's would be, she said the legislation did not ban vaping, unlike Singapore. She said MOH will study further whether New Zealand's approach is feasible in Singapore, as the ban would be limited to retail sale to affected cohorts. Therefore, affected cohorts will still be able to smoke cigarettes that are supplied by their peers or others who are not in the affected cohorts. Ms Rahayu pointed out that New Zealand's policy will have a longer-term term goal of de-normalising smoking rather than completely curbing access to tobacco products in the short term. Nevertheless, it is an interesting policy move that is worth studying further to see if it is appropriate and effective in Singapore's context, she said.