I find Singapore endlessly amusing. According to Singapore Lifts Ban on Chewing Gum, they’ve finally lifted their ban on gum. Sort of:
The government of this island nation announced Thursday it will allow chewing gum, long-banned here, to be sold — although only from pharmacies.The decision stems from a recently signed free trade agreement between the United States and Singapore, and follows lobbying from the U.S. Congress and American gum makers.
Squeaky-clean Singapore outlawed the import, manufacture and sale of chewing gum in 1992, complaining that spent wads were fouling the city-state’s famously tidy pavements, buildings, buses and subway trains.
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Singapore initially agreed to allow gum to be sold only with a doctor’s prescription, but that didn’t satisfy U.S. negotiators.Pharmacies may sell dentist-recommended gum that aids “dental and oral hygiene” once the trade pact takes effect, expected to be by the end of the year, a government spokeswoman said.
I didn’t realize the ban only went back to 1992.