Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ11: Statutory no-smoking areas
Following is a question by the Hon Andrew Cheng and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today
(July 4):
Question:
Regarding smoking in outdoor public places, will the Government inform this
Council:
(a) whether it knows if smoking outside designated no smoking areas (e.g.
outside restaurants) has become prevalent since the implementation of the
Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Ordinance 2006, the locations where the
situation is particularly serious, as well as the impact on the health and
smoking habits of members of the public (especially the problem of smoking among
children); if it knows, of the details; if not, whether it will consider
conducting a survey to understand the situation;
(b) of the number of prosecutions instituted by the Government against smoking
in designated no smoking areas of outdoor public places since January 1 this
year; whether there are difficulties in implementing the smoking ban in such
places; if so, of the details and locations where the implementation of such a
ban is particularly difficult, as well as the measures taken by the Government
to resolve the difficulties; and
(c) whether it will consider amending the legislation to designate areas within
15 metres from the entrance to indoor designated no smoking areas (e.g. shopping
arcades) as no smoking areas; if it will not, of the reasons for that, as well
as how it protects the public from exposure to heavy second-hand smoke before
they enter the premises concerned?
Reply:
Madam President,
My reply to each part of the question is as follows:
(a) The purpose of designating no-smoking areas is to minimise the effect of
secondhand smoke on the public. In so doing, we have balanced the interests of
all parties, including both smokers and non-smokers. With the vast expansion of
statutory no-smoking areas since January 1 this year, the exposure of the public
to secondhand smoke has already been greatly reduced. At present, our priority
is to implement the smoking ban in statutory no-smoking areas. As for changes in
the number of smokers and their smoking frequency and habits, the impact of
secondhand smoke outside the statutory no-smoking areas, as well as public
reaction towards the overall tobacco control efforts after the implementation of
the amended Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance, we will conduct survey and study
at a later stage to assess the effect of the new legislation.
(b) Statutory no-smoking areas designated under the Smoking (Public Health)
Ordinance are set out in Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Ordinance. Since January 1
this year, the Tobacco Control Office has arranged to issue 70 summonses for
smoking offences committed in outdoor no-smoking areas, including 69 cases that
took place in public pleasure grounds under the management of the Leisure and
Cultural Services Department and one case that took place in a public hospital.
Generally speaking, most people have complied with the smoking ban since the
expansion of no-smoking areas. The Administration has encountered no particular
difficulty in its enforcement of the smoking ban in outdoor areas.
(c) The amended Ordinance has vastly expanded the statutory no-smoking areas and
the new legislation has only been in force for six months. It would take time
for the public to get accustomed to the new requirements and the Administration
to review the effect of the new law. At the present stage, we have no plans to
further expand the statutory no-smoking areas. As stated in part (a) of my
reply, we will conduct survey and study after the new law has been in force for
some time. We should also note that no matter by how much the no-smoking areas
were expanded, clear and conspicuous demarcations between smoking areas and
no-smoking areas would still be needed. Before putting in place any smoking ban,
we must consider how to ensure effective enforcement and easy compliance by the
public.
The long-term objective of tobacco control is to reduce the number of smokers,
in particular young smokers. Smoking cessation services are now made available
by the Department of Health (DH) and the Hospital Authority. In the past five
months, the number of people calling DH's smoking cessation hotline has
increased twofold as compared with the same period last year. Many family
doctors and pharmacists working in the community have also joined in the
provision of smoking cessation services. We will continue to work with all
sectors of the community to encourage smokers to quit smoking and hope that the
trend of cessation will continue.
Ends/Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:14
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