Singapore pitches new brand of no-smoking

SINGAPORE -- (AP) -- Ten years of campaigns and severe laws have failed to snub smoking in this city-state, so Singapore is trying something new.

When the government launched its annual anti-smoking campaign last month, it focused on nonsmokers instead, asking them to cajole colleagues, relatives and friends to kick the habit.

``We are adopting a new approach to the campaign by turning it into a civic movement,'' said Health Minister George Yeo.

In the last 10 years, the rate of smoking among Singaporeans aged 18 to 64 has declined from 20 percent to 17 percent. But the rate among people aged 18 and 19 went up from 9 percent to 12 percent, Yeo said.

In 1993, Singapore banned those under 18 from buying, carrying or smoking cigarettes. First-time offenders are warned, and repeat lawbreakers are fined $79.

Yeo acknowledged that the results of this law ``are still not clear.''

``Laws alone cannot solve the problem of teenage smoking,'' he said.

All public areas in Singapore, including offices, taxis and buses are designated smoke-free. Last year, smoking was barred in underground pedestrian walkways and in any lines of people. Offenders are fined up to $1,400.