AFP

Singapore: Singapore today extended its smoking ban to entertainment outlets including pubs, nightclubs and karaoke lounges as part of a campaign to cut tobacco-related diseases.

The ban will apply to an estimated 900 entertainment establishments in the city-state which already has some of the toughest anti-smoking measures in place.

“This latest move to restrict smoking in entertainment outlets is a natural extension of our decades of efforts to free public places in Singapore of tobacco smoke,” said Khoo Seow Poh, the National Environment Agency’s director general for public health.

In a statement on the NA website, Khoo said the extension of the smoking ban “not only protects members of the public but also people working in entertainment outlets from second hand tobacco smoke.”

Since July 2006, smokers have been barred from lighting up in outdoor eateries and cafes. They could only smoke at designated smoking corners at the premises

Under the new measures, clubs and pubs are allowed to have designated smoking rooms and can set aside part of their outdoor area for smokers.

Some of Singapore’s leading entertainment outlets voiced support for the extension of the smoking ban.“This is the best opportunity for many smokers to quit It’s a really expensive, bad habit,” said Dennis Foo, chief executive of Singapore’s largest entertainment complex, St James Power Station.