Scholar: Gov’t needs ‘to carefully strike a balance’ on smoking ban

A man smokes a cigarette as he walks past stores in Macau

As Macau’s gaming operators join forces to voice their concerns about the full smoking ban, the government should strike a balance between evaluating the interests of employees and of casino companies, according to scholar Carlos Siu Lam of the Gaming Teaching and Research Center at Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM).
The six gaming operators commissioned a study on the full smoking ban from the international audit firm KPMG, and announced part of its findings on Tuesday.
According to the results of the survey, 66 percent of surveyed casino employees agree that the current smoking lounges should be kept.
Mr Lam told the Times that, “With the six gaming operators joining forces to voice their concerns, I think this would encourage the government to carefully consider its smoking policy.”
“On the other hand, with the repeated requests raised by the unions of gaming employees regarding their health, I think that the government would need to carefully strike a balance between these two forces,” he added.
The scholar acknowledged that in light of the downturn in gaming revenue – which continued to drop for the 12th straight month in May – industry leaders continue to raise concerns about possible repercussions if a full smoking ban is to be implemented.
Casino operators invested considerable sums of money into the establishment of lounges on mass gaming floors last year. They have also been required to improve ventilation systems.
Melco Crown Entertainment, for instance, said that that the total cost of the smoking lounges reached over MOP30 million. The casino operator said it invested also over MOP150 million on ventilation systems.
Since the mass gaming floor smoking ban came into effect in October last year, Melco Crown Entertainment built 17 independent smoking lounges on its casino floors. “Both air-conditioning and ventilation systems for the smoking lounges are independent from non-smoking area to ensure no contamination to the surrounding area,” the company said in an email.
Sands China said that, due to company policy, they are unable to disclose financial figures. The operator stressed, however, that, “Feedback from employees and customers on the establishment of our smoking lounges has been largely positive.”
“Since the gaming floor smoking ban came into effect on October 6, 2014, the company has built independent smoking lounges on our casino floors throughout different properties; all these approved smoking lounges have been in operation since late 2014, and they are all properly ventilated,” said Ms Winnie Wong, Sands China’s VP of Corporate Communications and Community Affairs.
Last January, the Health Bureau announced its plans to implement a full smoking ban in casinos, including VIP rooms. Under this ban, the current smoking lounges on mass gaming floors would be forced to close.
The survey, which was commissioned by the six gaming operators to be conducted by KPMG, showed that out of nearly 34,000 surveyed employees from the six casino operators, 66 percent supported keeping the current smoking lounges.
Furthermore, 47 percent of VIP customers and 31 percent of mass-market customers shared concerns that a full smoking ban could have a detrimental impact on Macau’s economy, particularly in the area of unemployment.
Social commentator and scholar Larry So told the Times that he believes that, “The government will enforce the full smoking ban but with a kind of leniency for VIP rooms.”
He does not believe that the Macau government will back down in its desire to introduce a full smoking ban in casinos. “I believe they will require casinos to close down smoking lounges [under this ban] but they will allow them some time to do that. I mean, this would most likely be one or two years more to actually implement the new policy,” he added.
Both scholars chose not to provide additional comments on the results of the recent survey, as a full survey report has not yet been made public.
Melco Crown, Venetian and Wynn Macau told the Times that, “Due to contractual obligations, we are unable to share the full report at this time.”
“The press release [issued on Tuesday] provides the summary of the key findings on our report. The operators collectively agreed to share these findings with the community at large so that all concerned parties recognize that there is strong support to retain properly ventilated smoking lounges, and that a full smoking ban could have a negative impact on Macau’s wider economy,” it added.
Chief Executive Chui Sai On said on Tuesday that he saw no direct link between the smoking ban in casinos and the recent decline in gaming revenue.
The Government Information Bureau (GCS) stressed in a statement that amendments to the current Tobacco Prevention and Control Law will be submitted to the Legislative Assembly to be discussed later this month.
The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, also reiterated on Tuesday the government’s intention to move forward with the full smoking ban in casinos.
“The government said it would introduce the [amended] bill within the first half of this year. I can guarantee that the bill will be introduced [for discussion] by the end of this month. Without smoking lounges. Nothing changes, the government always [stands] firm,” he stated.