Here's How Much The Haze Is Costing You In Singapore
The latest hullabaloo surrounding the haze situation in Singapore involves the fact that Indonesia has finally accepted Singapore’s offer to help combat the roaring fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra after rejecting our assistance multiple times.
Also, supermarket chains such as FairPrice, Sheng Siong and Prime Supermarket are doing their part by pulling all Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) products off their shelves after the Singapore Environment Council temporarily withheld their green label certification.
It is surely a commendable effort on their end, don’t you think? Some popular brands include Paseo, NICE and Jolly. We seriously think you should boycott APP’s products if you haven’t already done so.
We totally feel you if you hate the annual haze season as much as we do. Not only does it shroud our usually clear blue skies, hamper our vision and hurt our health, our wallets suffer too.
You may not think it is that detrimental to our pockets, but every little thing adds up!
Here, we at GET.com present you with a table comparing the ways two hypothetical Singaporeans tackle the annoying haze and the resulting extra costs incurred - one is a quality-conscious Singaporean who tries to seek the best that they can find in the market while the other is more cost-conscious.
Keep in mind that these are estimated costs!
We know the N95 mask is our go-to when the annual haze hits us. The Air+ Smart N95 Mask that retails for $7.20 for a pack of 3 at both Watsons and Guardian.
An extra hygienic person, like one of my colleagues, replaces her N95 mask once every two days whereas a less hygiene-conscious Singaporean uses 2 masks a week.
Eye drops and eye lotions are a must as the harmful pollutants in the air tend to cause eye irritation. Vitamin C is also a must for everyone as it helps boost our immune system.
Many people tend to increase their intake of herbal tea during this period. The quality-conscious Singaporean may opt to buy from Eu Yan Sang since it’s more reputable. Jia Jia Herbal Tea is a budget option perfect for those who’d like to save more money.
The more extreme ones may even book a flight and escape the whole bothersome haze situation.
In the example given above, the quality-conscious Singaporean books a flight to Sydney, flies on Emirates and stays at Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney.
On the other hand, the cost-conscious Singaporean books a flight to Taiwan, flies on Tiger Air and stays at Novotel Taipei.
According to a research done on determining the efficacy of air purifiers, Whirlpool’s AP628W emerged as the winner.
The quality-conscious Singaporean would go for that while the cost-conscious Singaporean would opt for a cheaper and slightly less-performing Bionaire BAP600B.
Other Things You Should Know...
Under Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, companies that are found guilty to have taken part in Indonesia’s polluting fires can be fined up to $100,000 a day, capped at $2 million.
Now, that is not fair, is it?
These companies have more than enough money than just $2 million. They can afford to be fined waaaaay more, given the seriousness of the haze that is blanketing the entire Southeast Asia region. Not to mention jail-time for perpetrators.
Furthermore, information from Health Promotion Board corroborates that children have higher risks of developing chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma even if they were healthy to begin with!
This is no laughing matter.
Who’s going to be held responsible for indirectly causing long-term distress and suffering to innocent individuals?
This article was originally on the GET.com blog at: Here's How Much The Haze Is Costing You In Singapore.
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