SINGAPORE – Beginning next year, retailers in Singapore will be banned from displaying tobacco products, a move intended to “prevent impulse buys, especially among young people who have not yet picked up smoking,” reports the Star.com.

In addition to dark tobacco retailing, stringent rules also include a ban on advertisements. "With the expansion of online access, there is increasing use of the Internet for tobacco advertising and commerce," said Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor.

"As part of the global public health community, Singapore should ensure that our existing prohibitions on tobacco advertising and promotion are comprehensive, and cover online advertising and promotion originating from Singapore," she added.

MPs welcomed the new anti-smoking measures, although several—such as Jurong GRC MP Tan Wu Meng—pressed for even stricter measures to snuff out smoking.

These include raising the minimum legal age from 18, as well as making smoking illegal for all those born after a certain year.