Inspectors fined 149 people for smoking at bus stops in the first quarter since the toughened version of Macau’s anti-smoking law took effect on January 1, the Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement on Monday.
The Legislative Assembly (AL) passed the government-initiated Tobacco Prevention and Control Law’s amendment bill during a plenary session in July last year.
According to the Macau Post Daily, the new version of the law bans smoking within a 10-metre-area of all bus stops and taxi ranks.
The no-smoking area at bus stops and taxi ranks was initially indicated by grey lines painted on the ground. The government has been changing the colour of the lines from grey to white, in response to complaints that the grey lines were difficult to see so that smokers might violate the new law inadvertently.
The statement said that the bureau’s anti-smoking inspectors fined 1,420 people for illegally smoking during the first quarter, comprising 900 tourists, 477 residents and 43 non-resident workers. Among the 1,420 violators, 396 were fined for illegally smoking in casinos, 162 in parks and recreational areas, and 149 at bus stops.
Under the new version of the law, smoking is banned in all public indoor areas, except smoking lounges in casinos and at the local airport.
Now those found smoking in a no-smoking area such as in public parks and on beaches face a fine of MOP 1,500, while they were fined between MOP 400 and MOP 600 before the new law took effect.
The new law bans the sale of e-cigarettes in Macau and also prohibits the display of tobacco products in shops. However, shop owners are still allowed to sell tobacco products and display a tobacco price list.
The original version of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Law first took effect on January 1, 2012.
