Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke

Name and Constituency of Member of ParliamentMr Louis Ng Kok KwangMP for Nee Soon GRC

Question No. 2286

To ask the Minister for Health (a) what are the health effects of prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke; (b) how many diagnoses of conditions related to secondhand smoke exposure are there each year in the past five years; (c) how many people in Singapore die because of secondhand smoke each year in the past five years; and (d) whether the Ministry will start collecting such data if it is currently not available.

Oral Reply

1     Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, also known as secondhand smoke, is associated with health conditions similar to those faced by smokers.  These include eye, nose and throat irritation, increased risk of respiratory infections, worsening of pre-existing respiratory problems such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and increased risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers such as breast cancer and lung cancer.

2     In individuals, it is often not possible to definitively attribute disease conditions specifically to exposure to secondhand smoke, because the individual may have other risk factors. At the population level, the Global Burden of Disease 2016 study estimates that tobacco use contributes to approximately seven percent (7%) of the total disease burden in Singapore, of which one percent (1%) is due to secondhand smoke and six percent (6%) is due to active smoking. Disease burden refers to the number of years of healthy life lost, due to premature death as well as living in ill health. From the same study, six persons die each day from active smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke. The results of the same study in 2010 are similar to 2016.

3     Tobacco use, including cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke, remains a leading contributor to the burden of disease in Singapore. The Ministry of Health will continue to monitor the effects of tobacco use, and press on with its multi-pronged approach to reduce the prevalence of tobacco use in Singapore. This includes public education, provision of smoking cessation services, and tobacco control legislation.