Singapore is famous for its strict public cleanliness laws, but one of its most talked-about policies was introduced for a surprisingly practical reason. In 1992, the government banned the sale and import of chewing gum after years of dealing with gum litter in public spaces and repeated cases of vandals sticking used gum onto the door sensors of the country’s newly built Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. Although the incidents were relatively rare, they caused expensive service disruptions on infrastructure that had only recently begun operating, prompting officials to conclude that prevention was easier than constant repairs. Today, chewing gum itself is not illegal to consume in Singapore, but its commercial sale remains tightly restricted, with exceptions for therapeutic and dental gum introduced in 2004. According to Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers , therapeutic, nicotine and certain oral dental chewing gums may now be imported and sold under specific health regulations.
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