Tobacco products off shop displays by next year

Shop owners will be banned from placing tobacco products in plain sight from next year, with aims to prevent impulse buys, especially among young people.This change was approved by the Parliament yesterday.As a result, Cigarettes, cigars, beedies and "ang hoon", or loose tobacco leaves, are among the many affected products.Online tobacco advertisements will also come under scrutiny. Ads that come from Singapore will be banned, regardless of whether they are targeting Singaporeans.This comes in response to the increasing use of the online space for tobacco advertising and commerce, according to Senior Minister of State for Health, Amy Khor.Shops that specialise in selling tobacco products will still be allowed to display them, as long as the products are not visible from outside the shops.Duty-free shops at Changi Airport will be exempted from the new rules for now, while those at seaports would follow the same modified rules as applied to specialist tobacco shops.