Developing an Effective Anti-Smoking Campaign in Singapore

This article discusses the negative impacts of smoking in Singapore and the need for an effective anti-smoking campaign. It suggests health education sessions, social marketing, and motivational interviewing as means of communication to develop health literacy and motivate individuals to quit smoking. The article also highlights the progress made by the government in tobacco control policies and the need for further action to reduce smoking-related disorders.

Running head: ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGN
ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGN
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
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Introduction:
Smoking prohibition in Singapore was first introduced in the year 1970. Under the
Smoking Act, smoking is mainly defined as the inhaling and expelling of the tobacco smoke or
smoke from any other substances (Cher et al., 2017). This definition includes the holding of any
cigar, cigarette, pipe as well as any other form of tobacco product which can be lit and would
emit smoke. Singapore has indeed made progress on tobacco control in the recent years. Still
huge number of people continues to die and become sick needlessly. Hence, it is important for
developing health promotion strategies and campaigns which would help people develop the
negative aspects of smoking and make them develop better quality lives through overcoming the
addiction of smoking.
Background:
Tobacco smoking is seen to harm the health as well as the treasury and spirit of
Singapore. Studies have shown that every year, more than about 2200 of its people are killed by
different types of tobacco causes disorder. It has been found that about 2000 children aging from
10 to 14 years as well as 435000 adults from age 15 to above continue to use tobacco every day.
16.81% are found to be having died in the year 2016 because of smoking related issues resulting
in 33 men every week (Picco et al., 2017). Complacency found in the face of the tobacco
epidemic is mainly seen to insulate the tobacco industry in Singapore and thereby ensures that
death toll due to tobacco would grow every year. It is the duty of the healthcare professionals and
the governmental sectors to advocate for tobacco control so that important information regarding
negative aspects of tobacco smoking can be made to reach out to different communities as well

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as resources. This would help in beginning changes in health behavior and lifestyle choices of
the individuals and thereby motivate them to bring changes in their lives.
Existing information:
Singapore has successfully stepped up in the anti-smoking drive by raising the excise
duty on all the tobacco products by 10% as well as by banning electronic cigarettes and other
vaporizers. Singapore’s comprehensive tobacco control policies have been found to help
bringing down the smoking prevalence rate from 18.3 % in the year 1992 to about 13% at the
present. The government is mainly aiming for the reduction of the rate of smoking to make it
among the lowest in the world to about 12% by the 2020 (Subramaniam et al., 2015). The
Tobacco Act was amended in November 2017 and the first phase of the amendments came into
force in the month of February 2018 when it became illegal to buy as well as use and possess
emerging and different imitation tobacco products like that of electronic cigarettes/pipes/cigars
as well as chewing tobacco and shisha in Singapore. Others included rising the minimum legal
age for the “purchase, use, possession, sale and supply of tobacco products” from 18 to that of
21. However, in spite of doing so, the death toll has not become possible to stop and even
smoking related disorders are also found (Goodchild et al., 2018). Hence, besides implementing
strict policies and legal systems controlling the act of smoking, development of health literacy
needs to be developed. Health education sessions are very important to make each individual
learn about how the smoking habit can affect their own lives and hence they need to fee;
motivated to change by themselves (Gardener et al., 2018). Anti-smoking campaign needs to be
arranged by targeting the young adults ranging from 21 and above in order to help them
become aware of the negative aspects of smoking and develop their coping abilities.

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Plan and strategy:
Another communication means would be through health education sessions. One of
the most important interventions that need to be taken is to ensure development of health literacy
among the targeted cohort. Therefore, health education sessions needs to be arranged in
universities, offices and organizations as well as in community halls (Teng et al., 2016). Here,
individuals would be provided information regarding the negative aspects of tobacco smoking
and how it impacts physical, social, and mental as well as financial aspects of livelihood.
Communication should be direct
Another communication means would be through social marketing. It can be explained
as the systematic application of the different principles and techniques of marketing that helps in
creating, communicating and even delivering values to influence the target audience and thereby
achieve specific, behavioral goals for social goods. Social marketing mainly uses the behavioral
theories and helps in creating the long term sustainable impact (Amul et al., 2018). This would
include developing placards and arranging them in universities, offices as well as different
neighborhoods. Moreover, anti-smoking advertisements should be broadcasted on television,
radio-channels as well and others so that every family members can come to know about the
negative impacts of smoking. Different pamphlets, leaflets, brochures or similar others would be
distributed in the communities as well.
Another communication means would be through motivational interviewing. Screening
sessions can be also arranged in the healthcare organizations, universities, and offices in order to
find out whether individuals are addicted to smoking. The high risk patients should be referred

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for motivational interview sessions (Furlow et al., 2018). These are client centered as well as
directive approach that would help in stimulating the positive behavioral changes and thereby
resolve ambivalence. The high risk individuals would be able to develop motivation in order to
participate in quitting smoking and take part in altering lifestyle choices and health behaviors so
that they can overcome the smoking habits successfully.
Conclusion:
It has been already seen that government of Singapore has introduced several policies as
well as laws and rules that prevent individuals from smoking at different places, preventing
people to buy cigarettes and other smoking objects from shops and others. Although the
prevalence of smoking has reduced in the nation but yet huge number of cases of hospitalizations
have been reported due to tobacco related disorders. Hence, health promotion campaigns should
be developed that would mainly focus on the communicating important information about
smoking to people to develop their health literacy and make them aware about how their
smoking habits impacts their own lives and family as well. Education would be communicated in
three ways - one through health education session, another through social marketing and another
through counseling with motivational interviewing. This would help in changing the views of
people and making them careful and responsible about their own lives.

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References:
Amul, G. G. H., & Pang, T. (2018). Progress in Tobacco Control in Singapore: Lessons and
Challenges in the Implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control. Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 5(1), 102-121.
Cher, B. P., Chen, C., & Yoong, J. (2017). Prevalence-based, disease-specific estimate of the
social cost of smoking in Singapore. BMJ open, 7(4), e014377.
Furlow, B. (2018). Tobacco control, lung cancer, and tuberculosis in Singapore. The Lancet
Respiratory Medicine, 6(10), 741-742.
Gardner, K., Kearns, R., Woodland, L., Silveira, M., Hua, M., Katz, M., ... & McDonald, J.
(2018). A scoping review of the evidence on health promotion interventions for reducing
waterpipe smoking: implications for practice. Frontiers in public health, 6.
Goodchild, M., Nargis, N., & d'Espaignet, E. T. (2018). Global economic cost of smoking-
attributable diseases. Tobacco Control, 27(1), 58-64.
Picco, L., Subramaniam, M., Abdin, E., Vaingankar, J. A., & Chong, S. A. (2017). Smoking and
nicotine dependence in Singapore: findings from a cross-sectional epidemiological study.
Subramaniam, M., Shahwan, S., Fauziana, R., Satghare, P., Picco, L., Vaingankar, J., & Chong,
S. (2015). Perspectives on smoking initiation and maintenance: A qualitative exploration
among Singapore youth. International journal of environmental research and public
health, 12(8), 8956-8970.
Teng, G. G., Pan, A., Yuan, J. M., & Koh, W. P. (2016). Cigarette smoking and risk of incident
gout in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Arthritis care & research, 68(8), 1135.

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