Alcoholic drinks will be prohibited from being sold to anyone under the age of 18 at public venues from early November, 180 days after the Law on the Prevention and Control on Minors’ Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages was promulgated in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday.
A government-initiated bill that will ban the sale of alcoholic drinks to minors, i.e., those under the age of 18, was passed during a plenary session of the Legislative Assembly (AL) around three weeks ago when it was voted on article-by-article in its second and final reading. The bill had been reviewed by a standing committee of the legislature after its outline was passed during a plenary session in October last year.
The bill will become law on November 4, 180 days after it was gazetted yesterday.
Currently, while there is a legal ban on the sale of cigarettes to those under the age of 18 in Macau, there is no legal ban on selling them alcoholic beverages.
Alcoholic drinks to be regulated by the new law are defined as those with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of over 1.2 percent, meaning that minors will still be allowed to buy drinks with an ABV of up to 1.2 percent.
According to the new law, alcoholic beverages will be prohibited from being sold to minors at public venues. In addition, public venues will be barred from providing alcoholic drinks to minors, either for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
According to the new law, those selling alcoholic beverages to minors at public venues will be fined 20,000 patacas. The 20,000-pataca fine will also cover those providing alcoholic drinks to minors at public venues for commercial purposes.
However, according to the new law, those providing alcoholic beverages to minors at public venues for non-commercial purposes will face a less heavy fine, ranging between 1,500 patacas and 20,000 patacas.
The new law defines public venues as all those that are open to members of the public regardless of the ownership of the respective property.
According to the new law, those below 18 will be barred from selling alcoholic drinks at public venues.
More specifically, the new law will bar anyone from hiring minors to sell alcoholic beverages or from telling them to provide such drinks at public venues. In addition, the law will also bar minors from “engaging in self-employment activities” that sell alcoholic drinks at public venues. Offenders will also face a fine of 20,000 patacas.
In addition, the new law will also ban the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors through any “remote” means, such as online shopping and courier services. Offenders will also face a fine of 20,000 patacas.
Moreover, the new law will bar the sale of alcoholic drinks to anyone through vending machines, except those equipped with a function that is able to identify the age of potential buyers with the aim of preventing minors from being able to buy such drinks from the machines. Those violating this rule will also face a fine of 20,000 patacas.
In addition to a legal ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors at any public venues, the new law will also bar the sale and provision of such drinks to anyone, as well as the consumption of such drinks by anyone, at certain public venues, namely health facilities as well as facilities designated for minors, such as day nurseries, kindergartens, and schools. Offenders will also face a fine of 20,000 patacas.
Alcoholic drinks are displayed on the shelf in a supermarket in the city yesterday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
