Anti-smoking inspectors fined 1,066 people for illegally puffing away in the first three months of the year, the Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement yesterday.
The 1,066 cases of smoking illegally recorded in the first quarter of this year represented a year-on-year increase of 38.1 percent from the same period of last year, when 772 cases were reported.
In the first quarter of 2022, 497 illegal smoking cases were recorded.
In Macau, smoking is banned in all indoor public venues and facilities, except smoking lounges in casinos and at 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 1,066 cases of smoking illegally, according to yesterday’s statement, in the first quarter of this year the bureau also fined 37 travellers for bringing e-cigarettes into or taking them out of Macau, eight offenders for selling tobacco products with labels that did not comply with the officially required standards, three offenders for selling tobacco products by directly displaying them on shelves, and one offender for selling packets of cigarettes containing less than 20 cigarettes. Consequently, the bureau fined a total of 1,115 violators in the first three months of the year. All four kinds of offences, i.e., the 49 violations, are each punishable by a fixed fine of 4,000 patacas.
Illegal smoking in casinos up 316.7 pct
According to yesterday’s statement, 148 of the illegal smoking cases reported in the first three months occurred in restaurants and other eateries, 128 at the airport, and 125 in casinos.
The 125 illegal smoking cases in casinos recorded in the first quarter of this year represented a year-on-year increase of 316.7 percent from last year’s corresponding period, when just 30 cases were reported.
In the first quarter of 2022, 16 illegal smoking cases were recorded in casinos.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s statement also said that in the first quarter of this year, the bureau’s anti-alcohol inspectors did not fine anyone for violating the new Law on the Prevention and Control on Minors’ Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages, which took effect on November 5 last year.
According to the new law, it is illegal to sell minors, i.e., those under the age of 18, alcoholic drinks or provide them with such drinks at public venues.
After the new law came into force in early November, the bureau had fined just two violators for providing minors with alcoholic drinks, as of the end of last year.
This undated handout photo released by the Health Bureau (SSM) yesterday shows its anti-smoking staff inspecting a restaurant.
