SINGAPORE: A Singaporean mother is appealing for help online after her young daughter, who was born with underdeveloped lungs and a weak heart, developed acute bronchitis due to long-term exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke in her neighbourhood.
Posting anonymously on the r/askSingapore forum on Tuesday (Dec 2), she said her neighbourhood “has smelled like one giant ashtray after 8pm” for years, as people smoke at the park, the void deck, and outside the food court despite these areas being non-smoking zones.
“Our clothes keep picking up secondhand smoke, and we’re exposed every time we enter or leave the house. Because of that, my child has been having more frequent asthma attacks, trouble breathing, and just last week even coughed up blood. I had to take her to the hospital,” the mother explained.
“The doctor diagnosed my child with acute bronchitis caused by long-term exposure to secondhand smoke and clothes contaminated with thirdhand smoke. The doctor also advised us not to hang our clothes outside and to keep the windows closed.”
The mother added that she has repeatedly reported the issue to the authorities, but her efforts have gone nowhere. “NEA always gives us a very standard reply and says the issue has been ‘resolved,’ but I can tell the situation has only worsened in the past few months. Maybe it’s because many vapers quit vaping and went back to cigarettes.”
“Without proper enforcement and legal protection, we can’t even have something as basic as clean air, one of the most fundamental things everyone should be able to rely on,” she wrote.
She also noted that smokers have become “increasingly reckless and inconsiderate” over the years. Citing an example, she recalled one incident in the lift where she politely asked an uncle not to smoke while she and her daughter were inside.
However, instead of listening, he allegedly turned aggressive. “He [the uncle] verbally abused me, nearly hit me, and even blew smoke directly at my child, leaving me fearful all the way home.”
The mother also confessed that she currently lacks the means to improve her child’s living conditions. With a limited family income and the added responsibility of caring for elderly relatives with health issues, she said that items like “a dryer, an air purifier, or the extra electricity” are simply out of her reach.
“Sometimes I can’t help but think if only I could have given my child fully developed lungs during my pregnancy, maybe she wouldn’t be suffering like this now. I’m not asking for the world to feel sorry for us, but it’s hard to watch my child suffer from asthma and breathing problems because of something we have no control over.”
“I also understand that the government strictly regulates vaping, but I hope they realise that after banning vapes, smokers start lighting up freely in non-smoking areas. This situation needs stronger enforcement. What can I do to make the government take this seriously and enforce stricter laws to stop this secondhand smoke problem?” she wrote at the end of her post.
“I genuinely understand how you feel.”
In a heartwarming display of support, many Singaporean Redditors quickly replied to the mother’s post with tips on how she could safeguard her child.
One user advised, “Email your MP and meet them during their weekly session. Keep a copy of all your communication. Post on social media if it is not resolved. It is illegal, right? Ask them to enforce it. I always receive standard responses from NEA, but I continue to report the smokers, not just in my area but everywhere.”
Another wrote, “It really breaks my heart that you have to go through this. There have also been many older uncles smoking everywhere in my area recently, so I genuinely understand how you feel. Also, if you ever need financial help, please let me know.”
A third added, “Use detergent that’s good for indoor drying and won’t leave odour. Hang clothes indoors. My parents’ house has been around for 30+ years, and they also mainly hang clothes indoors. Since they stay on the third floor, people regularly toss water, cigarette ash, or even bird droppings onto the clothes, so they stopped hanging them outside.”
A few users also offered to help more directly, saying they would buy her an air purifier to make her home safer for her child. One user commented, “I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I’d like to send you a new air purifier if you’re open to receiving one. Just from one mother to another. Please PM me.”
Another said, “If you don’t mind, can I send you a negative ion air purifier? It is a small, low-powered fibre ball. It can help to address smoke issues. You can use this in addition to a standard air purifier if you have one.”
In other news, an 18-year-old Singaporean took to social media on Sunday (March 30) to share that her parents refused to pay for her poly fees or give her any sort of allowance.
In a post on r/SGexams, the young Singaporean said that if “this was the social norm,” then she would have “half-heartedly” accepted this arrangement. However, seeing as all of her poly friends “receive an allowance ranging from S$300-800 per month and their parents are paying for their school fees,” she felt that it was unfair.
