Singapore’s most iconic shopping street, Orchard Road, will soon become a designated smoke-free zone by the start of 2019.
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In a statement by the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Orchard Road Precinct will become a No Smoking Zone effective January 1, 2019. Furthermore, there will only be designated smoking areas (DSAs) while smoking areas in food and retail establishments within the No Smoking Zone will be disallowed by year-end as shared in a report by Channel News Asia.
Smoking to be Banned in Orchard Road by 2019
The implementation of the ordinance was originally scheduled in July 2018. However, one month before the implementation the NEA announced that the smoking prohibition will be deferred until the end of the year in order to give more time for businesses to prepare for the transition.
At present, the NEA is organizing its efforts to raise awareness regarding the No Smoking Zone by engaging the public within the precinct to increase publicity. Moreover, brochures which has the listing of locations of DSAs will soon be made available at shopping malls and point-of-sales of tobacco products as per the NEA.
Through the efforts of the agency together with the help of community volunteers, advertisements will be put up in Orchard, Somerset, Newton and Dhoby Ghaut MRT stations, as well as in selected bus stops and buses servicing Orchard Road.
There will also be signs displayed at lamp posts and trash bins in the area while online mobile banners will also be utilized to further the reach of the campaign.
To keep foreign travellers abreast with the new initiative, the NEA and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have updated the STB’s Visit Singapore website to share relevant information regarding the No Smoking Zone.
Furthermore, inbound travellers will be supplemented with information regarding the initiative through publicity materials displayed at entry points including Changi Airport, Singapore Cruise Centre and Marina Bay Cruise Centre. The burden of this responsibility will also fall on the shoulders of travel agents, tourist guides and hotels that handle the activities of tourists in the country.
To know more about Singapore’s Smoking Prohibition Act, click HERE.