Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon, who is also the spokesman for the government’s top advisory Executive Council, has announced that the Tobacco Prevention and Control Office under the Health Bureau (SSM), which is currently a division-level unit, will be upgraded to a department-level unit when it will be renamed Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention and Control Office.
The upgrade will take effect on November 5 this year when the newly-enacted Law on the Prevention and Control on Minors’ Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages comes into force.
According to the new law, alcoholic drinks will be prohibited from being sold to anyone under the age of 18 at public venues.
The bill was passed by the Legislative Assembly (AL) in April when it was voted on article-by-article in its second and final reading. The bill will become law on November 5, 180 days after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO) on May 8.
Addressing a press conference at Government Headquarters on Friday, Cheong said that the government has finished drafting a new administrative regulation to amend the Health Bureau’s existing organisational structure, in compliance with the upcoming implementation of the Law on the Prevention and Control on Minors’ Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages.
Cheong said that according to the Health Bureau’s amended organisational structure, which will take effect on November 5, the Tobacco Prevention and Control Office, which is currently a division-level unit, will be upgraded to a department-level unit that will be tasked with enforcing the new law, because of which the unit will then be renamed Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention and Control Office, Cheong said.
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, i.e., those under the age of 18, will still be allowed to buy drinks with an ABV of up to 1.2 percent.
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.
Also addressing Friday’s press conference, Health Bureau Director Alvis Lo Iek Long pointed out that the government’s anti-smoking and anti-alcohol inspections will be carried out by a same unit, namely the upgraded Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention and Control Office, which will have an increased number of inspectors.
Dr Lo also noted that the work natures of anti-alcohol inspectors are similar to anti-smoking inspectors. Because of having its new functions and duties, the health chief said, the upgraded unit will strengthen its inspections of supermarkets and convenience stores.
Details on the new Law on the Prevention and Control on Minors’ Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages can be accessed at: https://www.macaupostdaily.com/article17801.html
Meanwhile, Cheong also said that the Health Bureau’s amended organisational structure will enable the government to promote the development of its smart healthcare drive that includes big data’s application.
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon (right) and Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long address Friday’s Executive Council press conference at Government Headquarters. – Photo courtesy of TDM
