Starting 1 January 2021, the minimum legal age to smoke in Singapore will be raised to 21 years old. This is part of the Ministry of Health’s continued efforts to de-normalise smoking and reduce smoking prevalence in youths.
Commenting on the rationale behind the raised legal age limit, Assistant Professor Yvette van der Eijk said that such measures reduce access to cigarettes for those aged between 18 and 21, especially during a crucial time period before ‘early experimentations’ turn into an addiction.
“The later someone starts (smoking), the less likely they are to become daily addicted smokers later on in life,” said Dr van der Eijk in an interview for Mothership’s ‘Experts Explain’ series.
She added that smoking affects every organ and system of the body. In the short term, it affects fitness and causes addiction; in the long term, it may cause cancer and serious chronic diseases.
On the difference between the legal age limits for smoking and alcohol consumption, Dr van der Eijk explained that cigarettes are an extremely addictive product. The addictiveness for smoking is “far, far more severe” than alcohol, even comparable to that of heroin and cocaine.
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