To be raised to 21 from 1 Jan 2021
Beginning from Jan. 1, 2021, the minimum legal age for smoking in Singapore will be raised to 21 years of age. As of Jan. 1, 2020, the minimum legal age is currently 20 years old.
The gradual increase in age limit over the years is part of the Ministry Of Health (MOH)’s anti-smoking laws passed in 2017.
MOH said that it aims to prevent Singaporean youths from picking up smoking by limiting access to tobacco products, and to also further de-normalise smoking for those below 21.
S’poreans Must Be Aged 21 & Above To Buy & Smoke Cigarettes From 1 Jan 2021
Singapore Raises Minimum Legal Age For Smoking To 21 From 1 Jan 2021. For young adults turning 20 in 2021 and are looking forward to being of legal age for smoking, they’d have to wait another year.
This is because Singapore will be raising the legal age for smoking from 20 to 21 next year.
In other words, those who are aged 20 and below won’t be allowed to buy, use, and even own tobacco products. Minimum legal age for smoking & buying cigarettes raised to 21.
Why Singapore raised the legal age limit for smoking
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. 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.
