Most of the members of the Legislative Assembly (AL) committee responsible for discussing amendments to the tobacco control bill are against a full smoking ban inside casinos, according to a TDM report.
However despite AL opposition to the full ban, the government has signaled its intention to move forward with the proposal. Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam has repeatedly pushed for the draft bill that would introduce a full smoking ban in public places, such as airports, the Macau prison, and casinos.
Casino operators were instructed to adhere to a partial ban back in 2013 and then legislation in October 2014 required to construction and segregation of specific lounges for smokers. Secretary Tam insists that he wants to end these lounges.
The proposal passed its first reading at the AL, however most the members in charge of reviewing the draft stand in opposition to the ban.
“Most members of this committee agree with setting up smoking lounges in casinos, as long as they meet some requirements. That means not impacting the health of other people,” Chan Chak Mo, President of the AL’s Second Standing Committee said, as cited by TDM.
The gaming concessionaires are also united against the full ban, maintaining that they have already made significant investments in the construction of smoking lounges and, having commissioned a KPMG study last year, found that the proposed ban was unnecessary.
They argue that sophisticated ventilation systems can protect non-smoking casino employees, that the employees also regard the systems as adequate, and that a full smoking ban may have a further negative impact on gaming revenues. The KPMG report last year found that Macau’s GDP might suffer by as much as 16 percent.
“The creation of smoking rooms in casinos will affect neither workers nor non- smokers. That’s why we agree with it,” said Chan. “But there are two [AL] members that have expressed their opposition, which means they support a full smoking ban inside casinos.” DB
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