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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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