Earlier this year, the government introduced a new set of laws which include clearing out and cleaning up one of the city’s major tourist destinations – the Orchard Road, of smokers in public.
ALSO READ: 5 New Laws Set to take Effect in Singapore by 2019
And while there is still an adjustment period in place for this law to fully take effect, citizens and public authorities continue to raise awareness and to spread information regarding the provisions of the new law. Meanwhile, others took this change as an opportunity to create something more considerate of those cutting the habit…
Smoking Cabin Launched as Solution to Secondhand Cigarette Smoke
On Tuesday (May 21), a smoking cabin that is fitted with a filtering system, turning cigarette smoke into clean air, was launched outside Fusionopolis in one-north, as shared in a report by Channel News Asia.
According to the Southern Globe Corporation (SGC), the company which brought the three-layer filtration system cabin in Singapore, it is the first facility that has been developed to solve the issue of second-hand cigarette smoke in the country, as in anywhere else in the world.
The system works as cigarette smoke passes through a pre-filter which removes large dust particles. A HEPA filter then removes small harmful particles the size of 0.3 microns, before an “activated carbon filter” removes tobacco smells and chemicals.
After going through this filter system, 99.95% pure air is then released back in the environment, the SGC explained.
The cabin is air-conditioned and is stationed near the building’s designated public smoking areas. According to the firm’s director Stefen Choo, the cabin also known as “Smoking Cabin SG” can accommodate up to ten smokers at a time, and its prototype which was introduced earlier this month has already been used by about 100 smokers daily.
The filtration system, which was developed by a Danish company, has already been used in countries such as Dubai, Japan and Kuwait, as per the SGC.
Should the initiative gain traction among residents of Singapore, the company intends to roll out up to 60 smoking cabins around the country by year-end, and twice this number by next year.
Despite its “smart” concept and design, those who tried using the cabin have pointed out areas for improvement should the initiative becomes a standard. For one, the cabin may be limited to only five smokers at a time, instead of the recommended 10, as ventilation can become a problem. Others also expressed that the tobacco smells stronger on their clothes as compared to when they were smoking outdoors. And finally, others raised concerns regarding their privacy since a total of four security cameras were noted in the area, including one inside the cabin.
But whether this initiative sticks or not, residents should understand why smoking is not only dangerous to one’s health. It could also affect the people around them, as well as the environment, which has far more detrimental results not only today but more importantly for the future generation.