Over 3,000 fines issued over smoking ban breaches

The Health Bureau (SSM) has issued a total of 3,077 fines to citizens found breaching the smoking ban between January 1 and May 31.
SSM said that it had undertaken 119,367 inspection operations to monitor different indoor spaces where smoking is illegal. Most offenders are male (2,858), with female offenders only representing 7.1 percent of the total (219). The majority of fines were issued to Macau residents (60 percent), while tourists accounted for 34.4 percent of the fines and 146 cases relate to non-resident workers.
Most offenses were recorded in internet cafes (17 percent), followed by gaming arcades (13.4 percent) and shops or malls (13.3 percent). Last month, most offenses were recorded in the Tap Seac area.
SSM said that, since January, only 2,351 offenders (75.8 percent) had paid their fines.
The bureau also revealed that 177 people were caught smoking in prohibited areas in local casinos between January and May. Among these offenders, 143 were tourists and 34 were Macau residents.