The Macau Association of Health Policy said in a statement that setting up smoking lounges in indoor public places or workplaces was a violation of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
The association made the statement in response to what lawmaker-cum-restaurateur Andrew Chan Chak Mo, who chairs the legislature’s 2nd Standing Committee, said on Thursday. According to Chan, the majority of the committee members are supporting the continuation of casino smoking lounges, provided that they meet the government’s safety standards.
The committee is reviewing a government-initiated tobacco control and prevention amendment bill, which proposes a blanket smoking ban on all casino premises.
The association said in the statement that the continuation of smoking lounges in casinos would put Macau in a bad light, as designated smoking rooms or areas indoors was breaching the WHO’s tobacco control convention. It said that by doing so, it was as if Macau wanted to challenge the WHO’s expertise.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
