More than 40 Designated Smoking Areas available within the Orchard Road No Smoking Zone. Advisory approach to be taken for the first three months for newly prohibited areas, but enforcement will continue for smoking in existing prohibited areas.

Singapore, 28 December 2018 – The National Environment Agency (NEA) would like to remind members of the public that with effect from 1 January 2019, public areas within the Orchard Road precinct will be designated as a No Smoking Zone (NSZ). Smoking in public areas will only be allowed at the Designated Smoking Areas (DSAs). Smoking corners at food retail establishments within the NSZ will also be rescinded by 31 December 2018.

Designated Smoking Areas within Orchard Road Precinct

2          To facilitate compliance by smokers, there will be more than 40 DSAs located at regular intervals within the Orchard Road NSZ. These DSAs have been set up progressively over the years and smokers frequenting Orchard Road should be familiar with most of them. Majority of the DSAs are approximately 100 to 200 metres apart.

3          Premises owners who deem it necessary to cater to the needs of smokers among their occupants and visitors have been encouraged to demarcate DSAs on their premises and put up directional signs leading to them. Guidelines on, and locations of, the DSAs are available on NEA’s website, and DSA locations will also be made available on OneMap and the myENV app. Brochures listing the locations of DSAs will also be made available at shopping malls and point-of-sales of tobacco products.  

Smoking Enforcement

4          To facilitate the transition for smokers, NEA will take an advisory approach in the first three months of the roll-out of the Orchard Road NSZ from 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2019. During this advisory period, smokers found smoking in the newly prohibited public areas within ORNSZ, such as along the streets and pavements or at open areas, will receive verbal warnings or advisories from our enforcement officers and volunteers. However, smokers who are uncooperative may still be issued a fine [1}. From 1 April 2019, enforcement action will be taken against all offenders who smoke in public areas within the NSZ, other than at the DSAs.

5          Smokers found smoking in existing smoking prohibited areas within the ORNSZ, such as covered walkways and bus-stops, will continue to face enforcement action. The advisory approach will not apply to this group of smokers.

6          In line with the 3-month advisory period, our enforcement officers, NEA officers and volunteers, who will be wearing easily identifiable NSZ polo t-shirt or bright blue NSZ badges, will be deployed to the main thoroughfare of the NSZ to engage smokers and advise them to smoke within the DSAs. This is in addition to deployment of the usual enforcement teams, who are in plain clothes and will identify themselves only when carrying out enforcement duties.

7          Given the expanse of the NSZ and to enable enforcement resources to be deployed more efficiently, surveillance cameras would also be selectively deployed to monitor certain hot-spots and other areas within the NSZ based on feedback. NEA will monitor the compliance to the Orchard Road NSZ and step up enforcement presence where necessary.

8          Under the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act, it is an offence to smoke or hold a lit cigarette or any other form of tobacco product which is alight or emitting smoke in a smoking prohibited area, as a lit cigarette is still emitting harmful smoke. NEA reminds smokers to light up only in areas where smoking is permitted, such as the DSAs within the Orchard Road NSZ. Operators and managers of smoking prohibited premises are also required by law to request smokers to cease smoking or direct them to leave the premises if they wish to continue smoking.

General Publicity

9          Publicity has been stepped up to increase the awareness of the Orchard Road NSZ.  NSZ signs will be placed on bins and some lamp posts within the Orchard Road NSZ.  Advertisements will be put up at four MRT stations (Orchard, Somerset, Newton and Dhoby Ghaut), selected bus stops and on buses that ply Orchard Road. Online mobile banners will be displayed to extend the campaign reach.

10        To keep foreign visitors and inbound travellers informed of the NSZ, informational materials will be displayed from 1 January 2019 at the points of entry such as Changi Airport, Singapore Cruise Centre and Marina Bay Cruise Centre. (Refer to Annex A for images of what members of the public can look out for.) 

11        Please refer to Annex B for an infographic on “Five things you need to know about the Orchard Road No Smoking Zone (NSZ)”.

[1] Under the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act, an individual who is found smoking in a prohibited place will be offered a composition sum of $200 or is liable to a fine of up to $1,000 if they are convicted in court.

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For more information, please contact us at 1800-CALL NEA (1800-2255 632) or submit your enquiries electronically via the Online Feedback Form or myENV mobile application.

ANNEX A

Outreach Materials

Poster

Foldable card-sized brochure

Exterior:

  Interior:

ANNEX B