Government-appointed Central District Community Service Consultative Council Deputy Convener Ao Ieong Kwong Kao urged the government yesterday to strengthen the promotion of an alcohol-free healthy lifestyle among minors and reduce their risk of exposure to alcohol.
Ao Ieong made the remarks during a press briefing after the government-appointed council’s closed-door meeting, pointing out that alcohol is widely available in supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants, and therefore is easily available to minors.
Ao Ieong pointed out that teenagers are easily affected by their social environment, so that young people are exposed to alcohol early, and even boozing.
The Legislative Assembly (AL) passed a law in April that will ban the sale of alcoholic drinks to minors, i.e., those under the age of 18. The ban will take effect on November 5.
According to the law, alcoholic drinks are defined as those with an alcohol by volume (ABV) content 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, for both commercial or non-commercial purposes.
In addition to restaurants, the government has said that the public venues to be covered by the ban will include markets, parks, and outdoor venues.
Committee member Ip Weng Keong said that the law is more educational in its approach than enforcement, and is primarily intended to consciously protect minors from the scourge of alcohol.
Ip also said that the focus should be on education to “teach minors right from wrong”, as Macau residents in general are exposed to alcohol at an early age and children’s guardians bear a great responsibility to protect minors from alcohol.
Government-appointed Central District Social Services Consultative Council Deputy Convener Ao Ieong Kwong Kao (right) and fellow council member Ip Weng Keong pose during a press briefing after the government-appointed committee’s closed-door meeting at the Patane Activity Centre yesterday. – Photo: Ginnie Liang
