The number of shops selling cigarettes and tobacco products has tumbled to a record low number, and the figure could be further trimmed with a display ban set to take effect in Aug. Last year, there were 4,764 retail outlets that sold tobacco, based on the number of licences issued by HSA. This is the lowest number since 1998, when the Government introduced laws that required all tobacco sellers to be licensed, the authority told ST. It is a far cry from 1999, when the country had a peak of 7,650 places selling tobacco. The number of tobacco-licensed shops has been dwindling in recent years. In 2011, there were 5,555 such places. This fell to 5,133 two years later, and slumped to 4,892 in 2015. The downward trend was expected, given the tougher measures implemented by regulatory bodies to curb smoking, especially among the young, said Sata CommHealth chief executive K. Thomas Abraham, an anti-smoking advocate. Tobacco licensing rules have also been tightened in recent years.... Continue Reading