The Singapore Travel: About Chewing Gum

If you are going to visit Singapore you should learn some rules and regulations. It might seem strange but chewing gum is banned in Singapore.

The ban was enacted in 1992. Anyone who is going to visit Singapore should remember that bringing chewing gum into the country, no matter how much and for whatever purpose, is absolutely prohibited. Without exception.

The reason for the ban was serious enough. To put it more precisely, there were several reasons for it. Chewing gum left on floors of the houses and shops, stairways and pavements in public areas increased the cost of cleaning and damaged cleaning equipment. Besides, chewing gum stuck on the seats of public buses was also considered a problem.

More than that, some vandals put spent gum in mailboxes, inside keyholes and even elevator buttons.

Moreover, in 1987 the construction of the metro system (MRT) was finished in Singapore. The cost of the system was 5 billion Singapore dollars. At that time it was the largest public project in Singapore and expectations were high.

But very soon it was reported that some vandals had begun sticking chewing gum on the sensors of MRT trains, preventing the door from functioning properly and causing disruption of train services.

In spite of the fact that such incidents were rare but they were extremely expensive and the government decided on the ban.

It was introduced in 1992. The penalty for smuggling chewing gum into the country is one year of prison and 10 thousand singapore dollars fine.

Twelve years later, in 2004 it was allowed to sell chewing gum in pharmacies and only to the people with special dentist prescriptions.

Moreover, a customer should give his name and show the ID. Otherwise, the penalty for a seller will be 2 years in prison and 5 thousand singapore dollars fine