Chewing Gum

Mmmm… Chewing gum…

To most Singaporeans, chewing gum is sort of a ‘forbidden fruit’. Although it sounds quite unusual, there are quite a few Singaporeans who have yet to try chewing on this, well, chewing gum. To people who do not live in Singapore (or people who have just migrated to Singapore or tourists), this seems even stranger. Have you ever wondered why chewing gum is no where to be found in shops around Singapore?

The answer to that question is pretty straightforward. The sale of chewing gum is banned in Singapore.

Now do you know why you can’t find chewing gum being sold in Singapore? Wait, before I move on, please let me correct a common misconception that many people who live in Singapore have. Chewing gum is not really banned in Singapore; rather the SALE of chewing gum is banned in Singapore. That means you can safely consume the chewing gum you bought from Malaysia (yes, I know many of you do that). If you still don’t believe me, here is a quote from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA):

Sale or advertisement for sale of chewing gum prohibited
2. —(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the sale or advertisement for sale of any chewing gum is prohibited.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the sale or advertisement of any chewing gum in respect of which a product licence has been granted under the Medicines Act (Cap. 176).
(3) In this regulation, “chewing gum” means the substance usually known as chewing gum, bubble gum or dental chewing gum, or any like substance prepared from a gum base of vegetable or synthetic origin and intended for chewing.

I hope you believe me now but if you still don’t and think I invented that myself, the link to the page is at the bottom of the page (the second page of the pdf file). Anyway back to the topic. Recently, Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, Parliamentary Secretary for National Development, said in reply to a question asked by Ms Denise Phua of Jalan Besar GRC about when chewing gum could be re-introduced into Singapore, 'We remain concerned that lifting the ban on the sale of chewing gum could result in chewing gum litter resurfacing as a problem, and undermine our on-going efforts to curb littering,'. In short, that means the sale of chewing gum in Singapore won’t be happening anytime soon. However, selling chewing gum is still ‘legal’ under certain circumstances provided it is therapeutic.

Firstly, let’s see the reasoning behind why chewing gum was banned in the first place. Many years ago, in 1992, the sale and advertisement of chewing gum was banned in Singapore. This happened because there were many cases of people sticking chewing gum on public property like trains, buses and other stuff. Eventually, the government (and some people who were tired of picking gum of their shoes) got fed up of cleaning up after the inconsiderate litterbugs who were committing these acts. Their solution? Ban the sale of chewing gum in Singapore. That way, the amount of chewing gum circulating in Singapore would fall, and so would the cases of people leaving chewing gum everywhere.

Many people felt it was a rather unfair move; why should the entire community be punished because of the inconsiderate and selfish acts of a few people. I too feel that it is somewhat unfair as most of the people had done nothing wrong but were still punished for what a few thoughtless litterbugs did. However, it does make some sense. If the people cannot enjoy this privilege properly, the government has the right to remove it. This will ensure that Singapore stays clean like it should.

So, finally, in conclusion, chewing gum will remained banned in Singapore until the people have shown that they can be considerate citizens and not litter or damage public property. Oh well, back to chewing gum from Malaysia ;)

References:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_497870.html

http://www.newasia-singapore.com/faq/will_i_be_able_to_bring_chewing_gum_into_singapore?.html

http://www.ava.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/0CA18578-7610-4917-BB67-C7DF4B96504B/8726/Attach61_legislation_Sale_Prohibition_rules.pdf