Prohibiting Smoking in Area Directly under MRT or LRT Viaducts

47 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Ministry will consider prohibiting smoking in the area directly under MRT or LRT viaducts.

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: The National Environment Agency (NEA) adopts a pragmatic approach in identifying places where smoking should be prohibited and takes into consideration whether the places have high footfall, are frequented by families, or are air-conditioned or enclosed. To reduce the public’s exposure to the harmful effects of second-hand tobacco smoke, NEA has progressively extended the smoking prohibition to cover more than 49,000 places island-wide. This includes covered and underground pedestrian walkways, playgrounds and void decks.

There are currently no plans to specifically prohibit smoking in areas under Mass Rapid Transit and Land Transport Authority viaducts. We encourage smokers to exercise social responsibility and be considerate when smoking in public spaces.