Secondhand and thirdhand cigarette smoke - part of the price to pay for using public transport

My wife and I could afford a car but we choose to take public transport to be environmentally friendly, to keep physically active and also not add to further road congestion.

Our resolve to take public transport is constantly challenged by secondhand cigarette smoke from smokers taking smoking breaks at/around bus stops, at/within the perimeter of non-smoking zones at MRT entrances and exits and along walkways accessing bus stops and MRT stations. There is no escape because these are common access points to the public transport system.

Furthermore, as much as you try to avoid them, smokers walk into you all the time.  When one eventually gets on a bus or train, one has to suffer, often enough, thirdhand smoke from the breath and garments of chain smokers.  It is also very common and distressing to be stuck in a taxi, with a driver emitting dense thirdhand smoke.  Lest you think we are fussy, you are welcome to check out the ill effects of thirdhand smoke by searching for the term on the internet or go to the HPB website.

For the vast majority of non-smokers, numbering 86% of the population, taking public transport is not a choice and they should not be penalised further by breathing in secondhand cigarette smoke which kills 600,000 people worldwide (figures from the World Health Organisation).

On behalf of all non-smoking public transport users, our plea is that tougher non-smoking laws be in place around public transport access points. The current no smoking within 5 metres of entrance/exit rule is only marginally useful as smokers gather at dustbins just outside the 5-metre zone to smoke (some dustbuns are placed within the 5-metre zone). For bus stops, the 5-metre rule does not even apply and you can find smokers smoking around the perimeter of the bus stops all the time.

Singapore public sector is known for great integrated coordination. I earnestly hope that the transport ministry could do more to protect non-smokers in the context of public transport by working with the health and environmental agencies.  The aim of encouraging more Singaporeans not to own cars and rely on public transport will be well served by reducing commuters' exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke.