Deadline for Designated Smoking Corners to be Removed from Hawker Centres and Food Establishments
Ministry of Sustainability and the EnvironmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Ms Poh Li San’s inquiry regarding the deadline for removing smoking corners from food establishments or if they will be enclosed and filtered. Senior Minister of State Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan replied that new hawker centres are smoke-free and existing corners are removed progressively during repairs. She stated that no new applications for smoking corners have been accepted since June 2017, with existing ones allowed until licenses expire. Currently, 21 hawker centres and 560 food establishments have smoking corners, a decrease from over 950 in 2017, and this number is expected to fall further. There are no plans to enclose these corners or add air filters, but the government will review smoking regulations periodically.
Transcript
The following question stood in the name of Ms Poh Li San –
34 To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether there is a deadline for all designated smoking corners to be removed from hawker centres and other food establishments; and (b) if not, whether there are plans to enclose these areas and retrofit them with special air filters.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio): Question No 34, please.
The Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) (for the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment): Since 2015, all newly built and redeveloped hawker centres have been smoke-free. As for existing hawker centres, NEA has been engaging local stakeholders, such as the Hawkers' Associations and Town Councils, on the progressive removal of smoking corners when opportune, such as during repair and redecoration works.
NEA has also stopped accepting applications for smoking corners in food retail establishments since June 2017. Existing smoking corners in food retail establishments are allowed to remain until the current licence of the food retail establishment is terminated or cancelled. There are, currently, 21 hawker centres and about 560 food retail establishments with smoking corners, a decrease from the more than 950 smoking corners in June 2017. We expect the number of smoking corners to further reduce over time.
There are, currently, no plans to require designated smoking corners to be enclosed or to be retrofitted with special air filters. We will continue to review the smoking prohibition regulations from time to time.