A recent TikTok video by Sam Najm, who usually talks about personal finance, shared her thoughts on Singapore’s strict laws about vaping and smoking.
In a video posted on September 28, she said that she had only been in Singapore for 10 minutes when she was reminded “how much Singapore is not for [her].” This was because she couldn’t vape in the country. She explained that because of this, she “had to buy cigarettes,” which she had actually been trying to quit.
@samnajm It’s very pretty tho
♬ original sound – Sam Najm
The “Cigarette Jail”
Najm also shared her frustration about having to find a designated smoking area. She called these areas a “little cigarette jail” because she had to walk across the street just to get to one. She said that no matter if it was “day or night,” she had to walk a distance just to smoke.
She did acknowledge that it was a minor issue, saying, “I know it’s a very first-world problem, and it’s my fault, I should not smoke to begin with,” but she followed up with, “But also, I’m just a girl.” She also captioned the video, “I’m in Singapore once a year and that’s enough tbh.”
The Public’s Reaction
Her video, which has gotten over 92,000 views and more than 300 comments, has led to a lot of different opinions.
Some people agreed with her, with one person commenting, “This is why I don’t go to SG anymore.” Another commenter who said they were Singaporean agreed, saying, “Actually as a Singaporean, I do miss when we could smoke freely.”
However, most of the comments were supportive of Singapore’s laws. Many people said that these rules are exactly why they like the country so much. One person wrote, “Singapore just went up on my list,” and added, “I cannot stand having to walk through other people’s cigarette smoke.”
Other commenters were less friendly, telling her to “go home” and “don’t come” if she didn’t like the rules. A more understanding comment pointed out that “foreigners aren’t as accustomed to” such laws and shouldn’t be criticized too harshly for their views.
