NO BUTTS about it. The list of no-smoking areas will get longer from next year.

Come Jan 1, smoking will be banned in non air-conditioned workplaces and public places, including children's playgrounds, markets and multi-storey carparks.

The move is a bid to discourage smoking among the young, and to 'offer greater protection to non-smokers', said Minister for Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim on Friday during the debate on his ministry's budget.

'Children learn by watching the actions of adults around them,' said Mr Liang. 'The smokers are not just ruining their own health and others, they are also setting a bad example to the young and impressionable children,' he said.

The smoking ban, which first kicked in at nightspots last July, has shown positive results, said Dr Yaacob.

Since then, there has been an 80 per cent reduction in the amount of air-borne particulate matter, which can increase the risk of developing respiratory and cardiovascular problems.

To further help young smokers quit the habit, polyclinics and some hospitals also provide quit-smoking programmes - efforts which have reduced the proportion of first-time 13- to 16-year-old smokers to 19 per cent in 2006, down from one in four in 2000.

To ensure that non-smoking laws are enforced, the National Environment Agency has some 420 officers dedicated to smoking out rule-breakers. This is further supported by about 50 auxillary police, said Dr Yaacob.

'We will step up enforcement should the need arise,' he added.

Singapore is among some 150 countries that have agreed to ban tobacco advertising and health warnings on cigarettes.

The World Health Organisation says five million people worldwide will die this year because of tobacco, and unless urgent action is taken, it will kill 10 million people a year by 2020.