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Let’s stamp out illegal cigarettes together!

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Look smart! Look sharp!

Let’s stamp out illegal cigarettes together!

Singapore Customs continues to call on Singaporeans to help protect their home from security threats posed by contraband cigarettes. For the first time, it is taking its message to the neighbourhoods through a series of community engagement roadshows under its latest anti-contraband cigarettes publicity campaign.

Class 95FM deejays Glenn and Yasmine at the Tampines roadshow livened up the anti-contraband cigarette message.

As part of its ongoing efforts to combat contraband cigarettes, Singapore Customs will be rolling out a series of community engagement roadshows island-wide throughout the year. Adopting the theme “Let’s stamp out illegal cigarettes together!”, the roadshows aim to inculcate a greater sense of civic responsibility among heartlanders to protect their homes and loved ones from the dangers of activities involving illegal cigarettes.

The first roadshow of the series made its debut over the weekend of 27 February 2009 at the Tampines Mall. The second roadshow followed a month later at the Causeway Point in Woodlands and was held over the weekend of 21 March 2009.

Presented in a lively and interactive manner, the two events attracted many members of public who had fun participating in educational games and quizzes where they learnt more about the ills of contraband cigarettes and the penalties involved.

participants stomping on pictures of contraband cigarettes

Participants gamely stomped on pictures of contraband cigarettes.

The participants gamely “stamped out” illegal cigarettes by stomping on pictures of contraband cigarettes with a bubble wrap backing to burst as many bubbles as they could.

Some were invited to spot the differences between two pictures showing the Singapore Custom’s hotline number, the increased fine of $500 per packet for buyers of contraband cigarettes and images of illegal cigarette transaction.

Through a game which required participants to form words beginning with the letters S, D, P and C, the public was informed and reminded about the new regulation requiring the “SDPC” marking on individual cigarette sticks from 1 January 2009.

The game segment aside, the crowds were also treated to exciting yo-yo and hip hop performances, as well as freestyle football and inline skating demonstrations, with the chance to interact with the performers on stage.

Cool hip hop performances demonstrate you can have fun without cigarettes.

Class 95FM deejays Glen and Yasmine also made a special appearance at the Tampines roadshow to spread the message and provide ‘live’ roving reports from the event site to Class 95 listeners to drive home the anti-contraband cigarette message.

All who participated in the games, quizzes and onstage performances walked away with a goodie bag, which sported advisory messages to steer clear of contraband cigarettes and the Singapore Customs’ hotline number to provide tip-offs.

For those who were interested to know more about contraband cigarettes, there were exhibition panels, posters and brochures providing useful information. A public education video was screened throughout the roadshows to remind the public about the need to curb the penetration of contraband cigarettes into their neighbourhoods.

Riding on the success of the roadshows held in Tampines and Woodlands, Singapore Customs will be holding more roadshows in the heartland areas and other parts of Singapore.

Smoke signals

Singapore Customs embarked on its latest publicity campaign against contraband cigarettes at the start of 2009. The campaign is part of Singapore Customs’ ongoing efforts to raise public awareness of contraband cigarettes. Its key objective is to warn the general public about the severe penalties for those caught dealing in or smoking contraband cigarettes, and to encourage the public to report any illegal cigarette activities.

The campaign serves to remind the public of the new regulation which requires all legal cigarettes sold at licensed shops in Singapore to be individually marked with the letters “SDPC”, as well as the stiffer penalties for buyers of contraband cigarettes who face a fine of $500 per packet while repeat offenders can be jailed.

The iconic visual for the publicity campaign features smoke emanating from a contraband cigarette stick and forming into a dollar sign, a pair of handcuffs and a phone, with the associated message that perpetrators of contraband cigarettes face a fine or jail term, and that the public should report any contraband cigarette activities they come across.

To ramp up the campaign, a television commercial carrying the deterrent messages on contraband cigarettes in the four official languages are being aired on selected free-to-air and cable channels. Print advertisements are also being published in the major local dailies.

The anti-contraband cigarette message was also featured in various drama serials and current affairs programmes, such as “Naam”, “Hi-Bro” and “Selinthi”, aired on local television channels.

Apart from the broadcast and print media, Singapore Customs is also spreading its anti-contraband cigarette message to hawker centres though table-top advertisements. Posters have also been distributed to public housing estates, foreign worker dormitories, as well as taxi and bus companies, to increase the reach of these public messages.

As part of its ongoing public education programme, Singapore Customs has also lined-up a series of community engagement roadshows in various parts of Singapore to bring its message to the neighbourhoods. Through these roadshows, Singapore Customs aims to instill a stronger community spirit in heartlanders to keep their homes safe by reporting any suspicious activities involving illegal cigarettes. (See main story.)