Anti-smoking inspectors fined 772 people for illegally puffing away in the first three months of the year, the Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement yesterday.
The 772 cases of smoking illegally recorded in the first quarter of this year represented a year-on-year increase of 55.3 percent from the same period of last year, when 497 cases were reported.
The number of 497 cases recorded in the first quarter of 2022 was announced in an SSM statement in April last year.
In Macau, smoking is barred in all indoor public venues and facilities, except smoking lounges in casinos and in the airport. In addition, smoking is also prohibited within a 10-metre-area of all public bus stops.
Illegal smoking carries a fixed fine of 1,500 patacas.
Moreover, smoking is only permitted in designated areas of public parks, gardens and recreational areas.
In addition to the 772 cases of smoking illegally, according to yesterday’s statement, in the first quarter of this year the bureau also fined 12 offenders for selling tobacco products with labels that did not comply with the officially required standards, one offender for selling tobacco products by directly displaying them on shelves, and one offender for selling e-cigarettes. Consequently, the bureau fined a total of 786 violators in the first three months of the year. All three kinds of offences, i.e., the 14 violations, are each punishable by a fixed fine of 4,000 patacas.
The sale of e-cigarettes has been barred in Macau since January 2018. The newly-amended version of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Law, which took effect on December 5 last year, also bans the manufacture, distribution, import and export of e-cigarettes, in addition to the ban on their sale in the city.
According to yesterday’s statement, 172 out of the illegal smoking cases reported in the first three months occurred in restaurants and other eateries, while 73 occurred in amusement arcades.
In addition, Health Bureau officials in conjunction with Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) inspectors fined 30 violators for illegal smoking in casinos in the first quarter of this year, the statement said.
The 30 illegal smoking cases in casinos recorded in the first quarter of this year represented a year-on-year increase of 87.5 percent from last year’s corresponding period, when 16 cases were reported.
This undated handout photo provided by the Health Bureau (SSM) yesterday shows its anti-smoking staff inspecting a restaurant.
