Posted on 02/17/2024 5:56:43 PM PST by nickcarraway
Participants in the I Quit programme, designed to help them quit smoking, need not worry about being fined or prosecuted as it does not presume they have or use vaping products.
But if they are caught using or possessing such products, then they will not be immune from criminal prosecution.
Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary said this on Feb 16 in Parliament when responding to a question from Associate Professor Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC).
Prof Lim had asked whether participants in I Quit, the smoking cessation programme by the Health Promotion Board, were offered immunity from prosecution.
He also asked how many have benefited from the programme, and what happens if these users are caught using vapes again.
Dr Janil said the programme does not presume that participants possess or use vaping products.
But if they are caught, they are subject to the same enforcement actions as other offenders.
Dr Janil said a total of 112,000 participants have joined the I Quit programme since May 2014, and it does not keep track of which participants are smokers or vapers.
Prof Lim then asked if the absence of immunity from prosecution might deter people from joining the programme.
Dr Janil said the Ministry of Health (MOH) will continue to study ways to improve the programme.
Vaping has been banned in Singapore since 2018. It is illegal to buy, use or own an electronic vaporiser or vape here.
In a joint statement in December 2023, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and MOH said enforcement and education efforts against vaping would be stepped up to prevent it from gaining a foothold in Singapore.
The statement came as more users here were caught buying vapes online and from overseas despite the ban on such products.
In 2022, 4,916 people were caught for the offence, compared with 1,266 in 2020 and 4,697 in 2021.
The Ministry of Education told The Straits Times in October 2023 that it had referred about 800 students, including those from primary schools, to HSA in 2022. Some were issued fines.
The vaping situation in Singapore has been worsening steadily, with 1,656 e-vaporiser-related cases reported in December 2023 alone.
The scourge is a global problem, with Britain's government in October proposing banning younger generations from ever buying cigarettes and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying it also needed to act on youth vaping.
On Dec 14, the World Health Organisation urged governments to treat e-cigarettes in a similar way to tobacco and ban all flavours, threatening the bets tobacco companies have made on smoking alternatives.
Buying, owning or using a vaporiser in Singapore can result in fines of up to $2,000.
First-time offenders who import, distribute, sell or offer for sale e-vaporisers and their components can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
Those who have information on the illegal possession, use, purchase, import, distribution, sale or offer for sale of e-vaporisers can call the Tobacco Regulation Branch on 6684-2036 or 6684-2037 during office hours.
It seems to have nothing to do with the program.
It has to do with vaping being illegal in Singapore since 2018, for any purpose or reason.
Oh, and there’s always caning to help with your addictions…
I haven’t had a cigarette since December 15th.
I have been using a vape to get me over the hump after dinner, while drinking coffee, etc.
Vapes aren’t quite as nasty as cigarettes and I hope to be off those soon.
Singapore seems a bit harsh on this, but trading one addiction for another doesn’t seem to be very helpful either.
Coffe is an addiction.
Coffee can be an addiction. I can take it or leave it. I didn’t have any today, but I usually have some on days I work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_Eye_(1985_film)
“Quitters, Inc.”
Smoker Dick Morrison is advised by a friend to join Quitters, Inc., to kick his habit. Clinic counselor Vinnie Donatti explains that the clinic has a 100% success rate due to a uniquely persuasive method: every time Dick smokes a cigarette, horrors of increasing magnitude will befall his wife and child.
Using the tomcat that Donatti’s assistant, Junk, caught in the street, Donatti demonstrates the first of these horrors: the tomcat is put in a cage and tormented with electric shocks coming from the floor.
Donatti explains that if his new client is caught with a cigarette, Dick’s wife Cindy will be shocked while he is forced to watch. For subsequent infractions, his daughter will be shocked, then his wife raped. Finally, Dick himself will be killed. Dick hides the threats from his family.
That night, Dick is angered by the methods Quitters, Inc., uses and notices a pack of cigarettes in his desk. He prepares to smoke, but notices a pair of feet in his closet, realizing Quitters, Inc., takes their threat seriously. The following day, Dick visits his daughter and gives her a doll. While at the school, Dick sees Donatti, who warns him that the organization will be watching him closely.
During a stressful traffic jam, Dick smokes after finding an old pack of cigarettes in his glove box. After watching Cindy suffer in the electric cage, Dick futilely attacks Donatti and Junk; the tomcat escapes in the scuffle. Dick is determined never to smoke again and tells his wife everything.
Time passes, and Dick is smoke-free, but has gained weight due to quitting. Donatti prescribes illegal diet pills and sets a target weight for Dick. Dick jokingly asks what will happen if he continues to gain weight; Donatti responds that someone will cut off his wife’s little finger.
Dick and his wife have a dinner party with the friend who recommended Quitters, Inc., to Dick and his wife, and toast the company. As she raises her glass, Dick sees that his friend’s wife is missing her little finger.
I’m addicted to water. I’m addicted to oxygen. I’m addicted to love.
We’re all addicted to you, Laz.
By the way, that is my favorite tag line of all time. I’m glad you brought it back. I only recently realized it was yours.
I’ve been vaping for 10 years or more. Last time they checked my lungs, they were clear. I tried everything else to get off of cigarettes. Vaping is the only thing that worked.
They stole that from Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
They stole that from Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Did you ever read </I>The Easy Way to Stop Smoking</I> by Allen Carr? I’ve never smoked, but everyone I know who read that book quit, and it sounds amazing. Including some people I never thought would ever quit.
I just enjoy smoking.
I don't like vaping. I don't like dipping tobacco. I don't like nicotine gum.
I like to smoke. I like the clank of a Zippo. I like the first drag. I like cigarettes and I don't want to quit because they provide me a little bit of pleasure.
And, no, I don't give two turds about lung cancer.
Good luck to you. I recently went about 6 weeks, from January 1st to Super Bowl Sunday. Cold turkey. Before, I went from December 2015 to April 2021 (having been smoking since 1984). Again, cold turkey.
Every time I quit, I'm miserable. I get fat. I hate it. However, I do like being able to intake a lung full of air and taste my food. But, to me, it's not worth what I give up.
Vapes aren’t quite as nasty as cigarettes and I hope to be off those soon.
I'm convinced that we will soon learn that vapes are Chinese poison.
I’ve been smoking tobacco pipes since 1966. I quit cigarettes in 1974 when the price went up to fifty-five cents per pack. I used some of the savings to buy nice pipes.
Thanks for the well wishes. I went cold turkey before and just about had it licked until we hired that leggy blonde and I found myself joining her during breaks, lol.
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