Singapore’s Ban On Chewing Gum
August 11, 2018
Top Stories
Singapore’s ban on the sale of chewing gum is potentially the most well-known law across the globe, although today the law is less strict than it once was when it first came about in the early 1990s.
Since the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement was signed back in 2004, chewing gum that provides health benefits is now available for purchase from pharmacies. And if you’re returning back to Singapore from abroad, no one will stop you from bringing back a few packs of gum truth be told.
According to Singapore’s first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, he was approached for the first time in the 1980s by the Ministers of National Development about a ban of chewing gum.
At the time, some initial controls were put into place, such as bans on ads on television that promoted chewing gum. It was reported that the Housing Development Board was spending a hefty annual amount on cleaning up gum around the country’s sidewalks, keyholes and even on the seats of buses.
Lee Kuan Yew was initially opposed to banning chewing gum entirely, understanding that perhaps it was too much of a drastic measure that could be simply solved through education and fining repeat offenders.
However everything changed in 1987 when the Mass Rapid Transit system came out. When people started to stick chewing gum on the train door sensors, it caused them to malfunction and disrupted train services. Chewing gum became a lot less welcome.
In 1992, the official ban was brought about from President Goh Chock Tong, with strong opinions on both sides of the ban. Supporters of the ban were pleased to see an end to the nuisance, while others felt as though it was too harsh and restrictive and that it impeded on people’s freedom.
Some people would even venture across the Malaysian border to Johor Bahru to get their fix, and the Singaporean government never tried to prevent this, rather they chose to fine those who were caught re-selling it.
The chewing gum ban is one of Singapore’s many laws in attempting to improve cleanliness.
You may also like
The Most Lucrative Leagues in the Sports Industry Outside the U.S.
People enjoy sports. That much is a given. It probably won't come as a surprise then when we say that the sports industry is huge. It may, however, come as a surprise to see just how big it really is: No matter how much we tell ourselves we know it, seeing the numbers in their raw form is sure to shock, even if just a bit. That's why we've compiled a brief list of some of the most profitable sports leagues outside of the U.S.
Read More
Unrivaled: Athletes Who Have No Equal
We all know about Michael Jordan and Muhammed Ali, two of the greatest athletes to ever do it in their respective sports, but who's the Michael Jordan of tennis? And what about the Muhammed Ali of soccer? Well, that's exactly what we're about to shine a light on in this article. These are the athletes that were at the top of the game in a game you might've never heard of.
Read More
The Greatest Chess Player to Never Live
AlphaZero is an artificial intelligence bot developed by British research company DeepMind Technologies acquired by google. Knowledge of AlphaZero was made public on the 5th of December, 2017, when DeepMind published an academic paper describing AlphaZero's chess debut: Within the short span of 24 hours of 'training', the bot managed to achieve a level of play unattainable to even the best human chess players. This crowning achievement of bots over humans wasn't new: Stockfish, elmo, and AlphaGo
Read More
Celebrating Indie Rock’s Iconic Albums
Ahh, Indie Rock. Good old independently organized, emotionally volatile, spiritually vacant, depressingly-uplifting, guitar-based-but-synth-infused Indie Rock. While there's no shortage of amazing albums, and though we're not clairvoyant, it's safe to say that the golden age of Indie Rock, that time when the genre was at the forefront of musical counterculture, has passed. So in memory of that special time, we've decided to compile a brief list of our favorite albums from the era. Just pleas
Read More
Up and Coming Rappers in a Lane of Their Own
The rap game moves fast. The virtually unknown become superstars overnight, and they're just as quick to fade out from the spotlight. There is a constant circulation of 'fresh talent' in and out of the industry, which makes the Hip=Hop industry even more cutthroat than other fields of entertainment, but it also makes the Hip-Hop industry a dynamic, lively musical landscape. These are some of the most promising young talents out there.
Read More