Makeshift smoking corners in heartland irk some residents

NEA says such sites not illegal unless in smoking-prohibited places, urges social responsibility

- Vihanya Rakshika

Madam Sharmila T. tries to avoid a coffee shop in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 whenever she is out for a meal with her young children.

Despite clear signs prohibiting smokers from lighting up on its premises, she would find the unwelcome smell of cigarette smoke drifting through the open-air dining area whenever she is there.

“It’s really unpleasant when we’re trying to enjoy our meal,” said the 33-year-old teacher, who has two sons aged seven and four.

The source of the fumes? A cluster of people lighting up at a makeshift smoking corner, mere steps from where people dine.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) told The Straits Times that smoking is currently not permitted at more than 49,000 places, both indoors and outdoors.

To limit the impact of second-hand tobacco smoke on non-smokers, smoking corners are typically sited in peripheral sections of outdoor refreshment areas and limited to 20 per cent of these spaces, the agency added.

NEA has stopped accepting applications for new smoking corners at retail food establishments since June 2017, and such smoking corners will be phased out when licences of the establishments are terminated or cancelled, it said.

Smoking is also prohibited at “any area within 5m of ventilation intakes, external windows, openings, entrances and exits to buildings of commercial, industrial or recreational purposes or (that are) publicly accessible”, according to NEA’s website.

NEA told ST that its officers actively check and take enforcement action against errant smokers, including for littering, with more than 14,600 tickets issued in 2023 for smoking in prohibited places.

But smoking is allowed in certain areas, such as open areas in residential estates and town centres.