Anti-smoking inspectors fined 3,941 people for illegally puffing away in 2024, the Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement yesterday.
The number reported last year represented an increase of 27.1 percent from the 3,101 recorded in 2023.
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 3,941 cases of illegal smoking, according to yesterday’s statement, the bureau, in conjunction with inspectors from other relevant public entities, last year fined 138 travellers for bringing e-cigarettes into or taking them out of Macau and 126 offenders for violating various other rules listed in the Tobacco Prevention and Control Law.
According to yesterday’s statement, 604 out of the illegal smoking cases reported last year occurred in restaurants and other eateries, 531 in casinos, and 361 in parks and sitting-out areas.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s statement also announced that last year the bureau’s anti-alcohol inspectors fined 47 offenders for violating the Law on the Prevention and Control on Minors’ Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages, including 11 for selling minors alcoholic drinks or providing them with such drinks at public venues.
This undated handout photo released by the Health Bureau (SSM) yesterday shows its anti-smoking staff inspecting a snooker hall.
